Impulse
by FreakGenius
Summary: I had to keep going. We weren't safe here, the burning sting against my skin was testament enough. No matter how odd it felt to run two-legged in this body I wouldn't stop. For my arms cradled all that mattered in my entire world. Eventual Lydia/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Fair warning to those who don't like it, this story has femslash. So if you're not into that kind of candy, then feel free to go on your merry way away from here. This is my first attempt at Elder Scroll fanfiction and, frankly, I'm making things up as I go along so please read on and leave some love if you like. **

**Disclaimer: Only Alex is mine, everyone and every_thing_ else belongs to Bethesda.**

"You speak as if you've suffered it yourself."

The Imperial's azure eyes caught Lydia's hard stare. Defiance loomed angrily behind those orbs; strong proof of the Nord's reluctance in accepting Alex's aid. The bright firelight of their camp made Lydia's eyes gleam almost enticingly.

Alex returned her attention to the three thick wounds brandished across her patient's stomach and the steady glow emitting from her working hands. The cold night air cooled away whatever sweat that started to dew above her brow from the skirmish that dealt Lydia's wounds. The Imperial could still taste the iron on her tongue from when the creature's blood had splattered onto her face, droplets landing in her mouth.

"I'm a Companion." no matter how subtle, Lydia could swear the woman's words carried a double meaning. "We've suffered far worse than the angered claws of a sabre cat, housecarl." her words bristled with ill restrained distaste, showcasing half of the woman's displeasure for the Nord. The other half gleamed in the way shaped brows knitted a scowl over cerulean eyes that remained focused on the healing wounds.

Lydia adopted Alex's scowl with little effort. "And that makes you a force to be reckoned with?" her tongue rang sharp and sarcastic, agitated toward the Imperial's tone.

The tendons along Alex's glowing hands flexed almost forcefully, a hint of her efforts in assuring that her hands didn't glow red and singe the already injured woman beneath her. No matter how frustrating she had been the entire trip.

"No." she replied just as sharp. "it makes me experienced. And that is what's keeping you calm."

Lydia's disdainful scowl melted into confused shock. "Wh-ggh!" the pain from her sudden jolt choked her of her intended words. One of Alex's hands dimmed to brace Lydia's shoulder, nudging the Nord down before she could upset her wound further.

"Don't move," the Imperial gently ordered, as gently as she could sound toward someone she harbored animosity for. "it could heal wrong, and then we'd have a lot more to worry about than petty differences." Lydia grumbled painfully, her pale fingers clutching around the grass beneath her as a sort of anchor against the sharp pain in her abdomen.

The single hand returned to hover over the angry wounds once again, a slightly disapproving look adorning Alex's face as she analyzed the cuts.

"Some of the flesh reopened. You're going to have to lay there for a while longer. Try staying _still_this time." she directed as she focused on healing the Nord's pale flesh.

Lydia's glare deepened, even with her grey eyes now hidden beneath white lids. "Why would your 'experience' keep me calm?" she demanded, ignoring Alex completely. Extra strain sang in her voice at the renewed pain exploding within her skin.

"Because it serves as an anchor for you." the woman answered simply, eyes never leaving her work.

This time when Lydia's brows crinkled, it was in confusion. "What?"

"You're terrified right now knowing that deep gashes have you literally split open at the moment. And you're probably ready to scream right about now. But the thing that holds you back from doing so is the fact that you're in the presence of someone who's had experience and knows how to tend to you accordingly." teasing cerulean eyes flitted up to meet recently opened grey orbs for a moment. "that and your stubborn pride keeps you from showing your vulnerability."

Alex's teasing remark was met with a dark glower, as was expected from the wounded woman. "Who are you to tell me what I'm feeling? There is no proof that would deem your predictions true!" Lydia barked defensively. The features in her face attempting to display the strength that her body was unable to emit at the moment.

"You're the one who asked." Alex responded, her tone soured, though it warmed once again to a teasing hum. "and might I add, individuals often become defensive when they find others' perceptions to be true." Lydia's brows rose in slight at the prospect, and then they burrowed once again into that glare. Likely toward the truth in Alex's words and the defiance that it surely brought within the Nord.

"But if it is a solid answer you seek," the Imperial continued unfazed. "the anxious beating of your heart should be solid enough."

Lydia's surprise nearly coaxed an impish laugh from the young Imperial. "Excuse me?"

"I can feel it against my palms." Alex didn't bother to explain the oddity that came with healing; the way her patient's entire form could be felt against her skin as if a sort of radar. Every heartbeat, every breath, every shiver. She felt it all in that period. She was well aware that Lydia couldn't be bothered to care enough to actually listen had she bothered to explain. And she didn't feel like wasting her breath trying to in the first place.

"Hmph." Alex looked up at the guarded sound. "well your _hands_must be defective. For I am completely at ease, considering my condition."

Alex didn't attempt to withhold the slight chortle that escaped at the unconvincing lie. She got a pointed glare in return. "Sorry to break it to you oh honored housecarl, but my hands aren't Dwemer machinery. They can't be defective. And just a sidenote, you're a horrible liar."

"I am not lying!"

Alex raised a single eyebrow in challenge. "Yelling doesn't make you more convincing. It just proves me right."

Lydia 'hmphed' once more and crossed her arms as angrily as she could without running the risk of upsetting her abdomen too much. She settled for glaring at the night sky as the warmth of Alex's magic slowly soothed the pain to nothing.

"You're absolutely excruciating." Lydia complained, and was met with thoughtless laughter.

"As are you Tall, Pale, and Stubborn. As are you."

XXXXX

"Enjoy," Alex sarcastically urged as she handed Lydia a bowl of venison stew. She was thanked with silence as she ladled a healthy amount into her own bowl and sat a few meters beside the newly healed Nord with soup in hand, relishing in the warmth of the campfire. Something that her Nordic company didn't much require.

"Did you poison this?"

The Imperial rolled her eyes as she swallowed a portion of the warm soup, attempting to cage the scowl fighting at her features. "You watched me cook it the entire time." she answered incredulously.

Lydia's gleaming grey eyes remained suspicious. "Still, there could have been something that I've missed. After all, you're a sneaky little worm. I've come to witness that in combat."

"That would be called _tact_ housecarl." Alex paused to down another spoonful. "and if I am a worm, then you are a headless chicken."

The Nord's mouth fell open in offense. Alex replied with a smug nod. "Do not attempt to glorify your cowardice on the field, Imperial. Clearly you have no backbone. A true warrior charges the enemy weapons bared, tongue sharp. Not cower behind a boulder like a spineless mer... or _Imperial_," she spat the word, "in your case." Lydia's tone emitted a conviction that Alex had come to find almost all Nord warriors seemed to harbor. She wondered how they'd survived this long with strategies such as that.

"Oh?" Alex queried as she watched Lydia spoon some soup into her mouth. Obviously giving in to the throes of her hunger. The healing had taken a lot out of both women. "and what of the long term? That strategy wins battles, not wars. You lack tact, and technique. And it will surely get you killed. Much like what nearly happened earlier."

"Dealings with a beast differ from dealings with a man." Lydia countered.

"And yet you approached as if they were the same." Alex returned. Recalling the outrageous battle cry the Nord woman had bellowed before charging for the massive cat. She dashed right past Alex who'd already nocked an arrow, her sights steadied for a one-shot kill. Alex even recalled the way she rolled her eyes irritatedly and returned the ebony arrow to her quiver. Retrieving the dagger strapped to her waist to join the sword-happy Nord in defeating the beast up close.

A heated silence fell upon the duo. The only ambience to accompany them was the crackle of the campfire, and the wildlife around them. The former of which had begun to flicker at the gaining wind that chilled the Imperial's skin.

"Enough talk. I'm starved." Lydia grumbled after moments of loaded silence and she greedily scarfed down the contents of her bowl. As did Alex.

"We should be able to get to the giant camp by midday if we awake by sun up." Alex calculated when she finished her food. She tossed the empty bowl into the fire. It cackled angrily around the object. She wondered if the same would happen if she threw Lydia's tongue in there, it would save her an entire trip's worth of quarreling with the woman.

The response she got was a distracted hum as Lydia devoured the soup almost wildly, having clearly forgotten her earlier poison jab.

The Imperial allowed a brief chuckle at the sight, before concern colored over her features as a realization occurred to her.

The sabre cat had destroyed Lydia's armor. Jagged teeth curved inward around the edges of the three slashes the beast had dealt. It was trial enough having to ease the cuirass off without tearing too much flesh on its way out. It had been fish-hooked in all three gashes.

The armor was completely unusable. And the two women were venturing off to clear a giant camp for the Companions.

The image of an armorless Lydia charging head on against a club wielding giant sent an unwanted tremor down the Imperial's spine. Then a hot flash of... _something_, followed suit.

A beastly growl rumbled deep within Alex's chest. Her eyes itched slightly with the change from crystal blues to flaming ambers. Already she could feel her Beast thrashing against its cage and panic begun to engulf her. She couldn't Change here. Not in front of Lydia. She'd surely attack in self defense, and there would be no telling what the Imperial would do in her Beast... why was she Changing all of a sudden anyway? Alex needed to run.

Through clouded hearing and blurring vision an impossibly pristine voice broke the suffocating haze of the oncoming Change.

"What in Oblivion-" no matter how irritating it was to the Imperial. "are you growling over there?"

A cool rush calmed the questionable heat that ventured down Alex's spine; like ice over fevered skin, water to a flame. The irritation in her eyes subsided, as did the steady, inhuman, growling within her chest. Alex felt her Beast back away from her cage bars, a predator deciding another time. The growing strain in her muscles laxed.

Alex blinked numerously. Her eyes examining her hands as she flipped them back and forth, assuring herself there was no fur. No boneshattering pain as the Beast broke free. No demanding hunger roiling in her stomach, afterward. And most of all, no frightened Nord woman with freshly healed wounds swinging a sword at her hulking Beast.

"What in Oblivion was that?" Alex wondered hushedly to herself as she examined her arms and legs discreetly. The Beast had never been too hard to control. Not including the night of her initial turn. She never tried to force exit like that since the first Change.

"_Hello_," Lydia crowed, gaining the Imperial's attention. "what in Oblivion was that?" the flustered Nord unknowingly repeated.

"I..." absolutely nothing could be said. Only the Circle was allowed knowledge of the Beast Blood. Lydia was not yet even a Companion. And more over, the Imperial had absolutely no idea what could possibly cause such an angry outburst from her Beast. "I.. Uh."

Yes rage was essential to the Change, but there was a difference in the Wolf's essence this time. A certain, unbridled hostility. A vengeance toward something utterly unknown to the human Imperial woman; a thirst of which only her Wolf could comprehend. And no matter how hard she'd strained in that moment, she could not begin to fathom the cause of such an enhancedly violent reaction in a relatively calm environment.

"I need to go."

XXXXX

The moon glowed bright, complimenting the Aurora lights that illuminated the sky in splashes of blending hues. They shone down differing colors upon the splintering spikes that peppered Robber's Gorge.

The trilling flow of the nearby river reached a sharp ear as the prowling predator slowly cased its many prey within the shrouding wisps of dewy grass that surrounded the camp.

Calculating amber eyes analyzed the camp's occupants. Gruff breath fanned from an ebony furred muzzle, sending the grass beneath bristling with every exhale.

An ink black tail followed stiffly behind the hunting beast as it raised its massive snout to sniff the air, analyzing the atmosphere. Establishing a rough number of the bandits within the safety of the walls. An eager rumble resided within the beast's furred chest as scents reached its nose in the breezy night.

Seven bandits.

With strategic silence, the beast bounded for the high rocks that overlooked the northern rear of the camp.

The scents gave away the marauders' placements within the fort. The rear was left most unguarded; only one man patrolled the area.

The beast went for him first.

It wasn't the initial lunge that alerted the camp of their unwanted intruder. It was the spine quivering howl of pain that escaped the man when razor sharp canines ripped him apart to the ambience of the beast's hungered growls.

The entire fort turned attention to the disturbance at once. All marauders bearing their weapons as they rushed to their mate's aid. Cries of threat and battle fell from their mouthes as they rushed for the beast and, unknowingly, their inevitable demise.

The men arrived to a bundle of sleek fur colored in rich crimson, greedily devouring their long passed companion in unhindered greed.

A panicked cough from the crowd of men caught the sudden attention of the feeding beast. Fierce amber eyes pierced the men hauntingly. They stood frozen to the bone as they were ensared in the give-less stare of a blood-painted werewolf before them.

They looked on to the growling wolf. Crimson hues slowly seeped through the edges of its rich golden eyes as the fur upon its muzzle rose, baring razor sharp teeth. Hunger grew eminent within the reddening rivers of the wolf's hues. It shifted for attack as the steady growl it emitted rose in ferocity.

Weariness melted the frozen haze the crudely dressed men had fallen under with every shift of the werewolf's deft form.

"By sweet Talos is that what I think it is?"

Their fates soon followed their fallen companion. Blood painted the grass and tents with every slash of razor claws and every lucky hit dealt to thick furred skin. Screams and roars filled the night as testament to their battle.

No matter the advantage the superiority of the beast could deal, the bandits and their numbers proved significant; dealing their fair amount of damage on the way to their defeat.

Rough rumbling vibrated the beast's chest as it licked a long slice along its furred forearm. Six bandits lay dead around the hulking animal as it tended its wounds. Once amber eyes now tinged red from built bloodlust.

Recovery was short lived for the werewolf, however. Sharpened metal sang through the night as the camp's chief swung a slice into the werewolf's lower back. A pained, vibrating, howl exploded from the beast as the metal embedded a good amount into the wolf's flesh.

A massive boot braced onto one furred haunch, the chief expelled his sword from the beast's flesh to bring it down once again for another blow. The werewolf managed a slash to the chief's Orcish cuirass, stunning him long enough to regain a defensive posture.

After touching a palm to the jagged gapes in his armor, the chief brought his attention back to the bleeding werewolf. The cut he dealt already closing itself.

"You killed my men, beast." came the baritone grumble from the armored bandit leader. He wiped blood from his blade on a fallen comrade. "I pulled so many favors to locate such fine recruits."

His armor enhanced the deep green of the Orc's skin. His tusks biting into them from where they jutted from behind his lower lip. The calm he emitted was far from a front, as the wolf could sense.

Despite the slight grimace within the wolf's face, one side of its mouth twitched upward in a respectful grin.

Orcs; always so fearless. Even in the presence of a fierce, bloodthirsty werewolf.

Said werewolf's bicolored eyes flitted off to the side. A smug recognition, the first human sign, flashed within its hues.

Before the bandit chief could wonder aloud about his target's sudden ease, a guttural roar tore the night. A ball of black fur collided with the hulking Orc, tackling him to the ground as sharp teeth penetrated his armor like butter. His roars were of anger and taunts; absolutely void of fear, even as he met his demise to the razor teeth of Aela's Beast.

When the Orc's fearless wales ceased, she turned her massive head toward the younger wolf, with her muzzle dripping of blood. The chief's life source colored Aela's gleaming silvery eyes with a red, widening, ring of crimson. She watched the younger werewolf as it bowed its equally massive head, tail tucking partially between its legs its furred back arching slightly.

Aela slowly trudged over the sprawled dead around the two. Her smooth tail standing high up behind her as she neared the younger wolf, whose eyes had reverted to a slight orange at the fading effects of sustenance.

Aela's muzzle rose high as she regarded her younger counterpart. Red-ringed silver eyes analyzing healing wounds peppered across the sleek wolf's ebony furred form. Her disapproval shone in a huff from her snout and the slight shake of her head as she circled round to the back of her kin. Her pink tongue snaked out to coat the wolf's most recent, and grave wound dealt by the now fallen Orc chief.

The young wolf held in a whimper as Aela nuzzled the wound with her snout before circling around the wolf again, dragging her fur along her kin all the while.

After coming to a stop in front of her kin, she leveled an authoritative stare that was received well, and the wolf began to turn. Its muscled arms shrank and reshaped, midnight fur disappearing under lean, silken skin, spotted with drying blood. Bones cracked and reformed. Faded orange orbs slowly morphed to a dark purple under soft, feathery black curtains of hair.

Alex blinked numerously at the slight irritation in her eyes. The crimson in them fading with every blink, leaving behind her natural cerulean tint. She untied the clothes bound around her ankle, shrugging them on as Aela reverted back as well.

The young Imperial hissed painfully when the waistband of her linens brushed over the still tender wound on her lower back.

"Little bandits hurt the big bad wolf?" Aela's gently teasing voice brushed across the Imperial woman's bare collarbone.

Alex fixed a deadpanned stare at the Nord woman's smirking, bloodstained, face. She held in the shiver the night air had tried to force from her now that she wasn't encased in warm fur that helped fend against the cold.

"In my defense, there was a lot of them." the young Imperial replied, thumbs twiddling with the waistband of her linens, assuring that it didn't irritate the tender wound. The other, more minor, cuts had already closed. Leaving behind faded pink lines where they soon faded to match the rest of Alex's skin.

Aela released a chortle. A strong pale hand reaching around the Imperial's slender waist, her fingers tracing lightly around the edges of Alex's closing wound. The experienced werewolf's warm breath brushed across Alex's shoulder with every word.

"And your excuse on the Orc?" her tone was playfully curious, void of any malice; light enough to nearly be carried away with the night breeze.

Alex sighed. Her shorter stature granting easy view of Aela's constricting abdomens at the warm air she breathed against the Nord's bare chest.

"No excuse... I'm still getting used to the Werewolf prospect." the woman conceded. Her head bowing slightly, suddenly feeling the effects of her near defeat. "it's difficult getting used to the idea of fighting with claws instead of a blade."

A warm finger scooped Alex beneath her chin leveling the Imperial's gaze with Aela's. Alex saw the Aurora lights reflecting off the Nord's silvery orbs; filled with understanding.

"Everyone has to," she lifted her tracing fingers from Alex's now healed wound and rested it on the Imperial's hip. "it helps if you give in to the new senses and let the Wolf take over. That way no human instincts can clash with it. Otherwise you can get flustered without realizing it."

Alex's azure eyes turned warmly teasing after a few silent moments. "You know you're a lot more friendly when you have no witnesses?" she teased impishly and playfully pushing the Nord away by the hips.

Aela released a chuckle, starting to untie the leather strip around her own ankle and retrieving her clothes. "You know you're a lot more respectful as a wolf? _She _knows when to submit to her betters. And she would never have shoved one like you just did," Aela's tone turned playfully authoritative as she feigned a silver-eyed reprimanding stare.

Alex rolled her eyes, slipping her arms through her shirt with a grin. "Well _her_," she mocked Aela's previous tone. "instincts differ from mine. I don't know why I froze up and bowed all of a sudden."

Aela slipped on the linens as Alex pulled the shirt over her head. "That's because I'm dominant." when the Imperial aimed a confused look her way, Aela laughed gently. "you turned after me... in fact, you turned _because_of me. So that makes me dominant. My Wolf, anyway."

The duo slowly walked a moderate pace back toward Whiterun after Aela put on her own shirt, leaving behind the blood stained camp and its dead inhabitants.

"Wait... my Wolf treats you reverently because you turned me?" Alex's face twisted in slight disagreement. "damn... that absolutely sucks."

Aela released a hearty laugh, patting a hand against the Imperial's shoulder as the night breeze wisped her fiery hair about. "It's not exactly like _that_. Since I'd already contained Beast Blood for a time, that makes me... _older_than you in a sense. you're like the new baby sister in the family so you submit to your elders like Farkas, Vilkas, Skjor... all those other muts."

Alex's face twisted up slightly. They walked a relaxed path directly for Whiterun, and were faced with vast plain at the moment. "So you lot are basically like alphas to me?"

The Nord shook her head. "Not exactly. Kodlak is the Alpha. Not officially, however. Because of his years worth of experience over us, he's the dominant Wolf... like an uncle."

"Why not the dad?" Alex wondered.

"Because he's not our official leader. The Companions have been relatively leaderless since the days of Ysgramor. Kodlak is, as you know, the Harbinger. Our counsel. He acts as our chief advisor, guides us when it comes to the nature of honor. He's well respected, not just by the Companions, but to all nine holds of Skyrim. But he's not our 'leader' per se."

"So what is he then?"

Aela let out an incredulous chuckle. "Were you not listening? He's like our uncle, our wise and helpful uncle. He holds a great respect and authority, but he's not a parent. So he's not the leader. But he IS the highest authority we have, and the oldest member, which is why he's the Alpha."

Alex pondered the information for a few moments. Her taller companion remained silent, allowing her to take in the information at her own pace.

"So aren't I just supposed to submit to him?" was her response after a few beats of silence.

Aela nodded, a small grin adorning her lips. "That's correct. But your Wolf is fairly new, she's going by her instincts and submitting to the more experienced wolves she comes across. But that too shall pass."

A worried crease lined the Imperial's face. "But what if I come across an enemy wolf.. and he's more powerful? I don't want to lay there submissive."

"That's not likely to happen. Your Wolf submits to us because she's new to the pack.. more of a bashful reaction than a defense mechanism. If you were to encounter a hostile stranger you would have no problem falling into combat. It's just a matter of getting used to the pack before you're capable of standing your ground around us. That, or you control your Wolf well enough to make her do it."

Alex remained silent for a few beats. Analyzing the information. Then she said, "So... until I learn to control her better... I'm basically the bitch."

A hearty laugh exploded from the taller woman. She slung an arm around her shorter companion, supporting herself from her strong laughter. Alex merely replied with a petulant pout. "Well," she said around titters. "when it comes down to it... that's exactly what you are, friend."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hola, this chapter is a great deal shorter than the last, mostly because the last chapter was actually two merged into one. I won't be doing that again for quite a while... actually... I don't think I'll do it again at all. Not sure, depends on if the mood strikes. My internet access isn't exactly the most stable so updates may not be frequent. But what do you care? You're here for the story... dear God I hope there are people here for the story. .**

**Disclaimer: Alex; mine. Everything else; nuh-uh.**

The mead hall bustled with lively chatter. Laughs and stories of valor traded between shield-siblings, playful taunts bounced from one semi-drunkard to another. The songs of clashing blades whistled around sparring siblings as they combated before their audience.

Alex popped a piece of apple pie into her mouth. Taking enjoyment from the close practice her shield-siblings provided. She hiked a foot onto her chair and propped an elbow on the mead hall table, her eyes never leaving her combating siblings at the far side of the table. She threw in her own playful taunts to blend with the many others while they cheered and jeered, grinning greatly all the while. A gruff chuckle sounded behind her.

A glance over her shoulder graced her with the grinning, war painted, face of Farkas, who took a seat beside her."Watching the New Bloods go at it never bores, does it?" his deep voice asked, almost drowning under the excited shouts of the other Companions.

Alex grinned wider, pausing to pop another treat into her mouth. "Watching just about _anyone _go at it never bores."

Farkas grinned his agreement, holding up his bottle of mead. With a wide smile Alex touched her mead with his, both sipping afterward."So did your mission fare well with the housecarl?" he queried after setting down his alcohol. The way Alex's features twisted up coaxed a chuckle from him. "what happened?"

A brief glance around. "I Turned." the Companion's brows shot up in surprised interest. "Yeah, I know. It just came out of nowhere!"

"Did you Turn in front of Lydia?"

A head shake. "I almost did... but it just, _stopped_, all of a sudden. But only for a few moments, I had to leave her at camp." Alex's brows slowly pulled together with every memory of the night flashing behind her eyes. The unexplainable anger, the questionable heat upon her spine. Returning to a sleeping Lydia.

The fit Companion seemed to approve of Alex's words for he nodded to himself and sat back in his chair. "No worries then."

Alex remained silent for a few beats. The events of the other night not sitting well with her. "Well there is one thing." Farkas' nod bade her to proceed. "the first time I started to Turn, there was this... _really_ intense hostility. Like I was angry." Farkas' deep chuckle shook his shoulders as he looked around, assuring that the others were still too occupied to be listening. Sure enough, a majority of their shield-siblings still gathered around the sparring area. Two others replaced the previous fighters. The remaining Companions that occupied the hall table were too intoxicated to hold their heads up, let alone comprehend a conversation.

"That's a given, Alex. I assumed you'd know that anger is always what's felt during a Change."

The Imperial shook her head, leaning closer to him so her lowered voice could be heard. "It wasn't just angry... it was... _hatred_. But magnetized... _greatly_ magnetized. It felt like some unlucky sod pissed all over my Wolf and bit her tail off, it was so intense. Is that normal?"

Farkas leveled a musing look upon Alex's focused stare. "Well I've never experienced that during my Changes. Frankly, the others never mentioned anything on the matter. Not even when I was new." The Imperial deflated with a sigh, her fingers bringing up her bottle of mead by the neck.

"Great." the bottle's lip pressed against her mouth. "so I'm a freak among freaks." Farkas shook with laughter while Alex downed some of her mead.

"Basically, yes." he agreed, aware that Alex meant no true offense. His head turned somewhere behind her. An expectant amusement blossoming across his face. Alex didn't need to look. The scent was information enough.

"Great." she muttered to no one. Farkas refrained his smile. Alex saw through it though. "not a word furball. Not a single word."

It was no secret how much tension seemed to spark between Alex and the newest Companion.

"Alex, show Lydia to her new sleeping quarters."

And her fellow shield-siblings always jumped at the chance to force the two together for a good laugh at the heated words that would undoubtedly trade between the two. Alex's eye twitched as she watched Farkas' shoulders shake and his silver eyes light with mirth when he hid his laughter behind his mead. "Why can't you do it?" the Imperial muttered to Aela's utterly mischievously grinning mug. Alex ignored the customary scowl she felt burning into her cheek from the pale housecarl beside the huntress. A certain gleam within Aela's shining eyes sent a flare down the Imperial's chest. Alex snuffed the building growl before it could form. The huntress' shoulders rose and fell. A sly grin shaping her war painted lips as she rested an elbow on Farkas' rolling shoulders.

"I'd like to catch up with ol' Farkas here. I understand he has a rather thrilling story to tell about his most recent venture." their twinning impish eyes met. Trading silent laughter. "don't you, brother?"

"Of course," both wolves ignored the glare Alex leveled upon them. Taking more amusement out of it than fright. "it's quite the tale." Alex managed a heavy sigh. Eyes shooting daggers at her kin. Lydia stood impatiently. Foot tapping against the ground, unaware of the sharp eyes settled behind the curtain of the Imperial's bangs.

"Doesn't she have a house to sleep in already anyway?"

"_'She'_ is standing right here." came Lydia's sharp interruption. It was about due. "and I'd appreciate enough respect as to recieve eye contact when speaking of me."Alex's jaws clenched and the twin silvers before her grew brighter with mischievous merriment. She stiffly shifted in her seat until her stare grudgingly locked with the bright grey orbs of the Dragonborn's frustrating housecarl.

"Fine." she ground out. Glaring at the woman. "Aela, doesn't the _useless _housecarl have her own house to sleep in?"

Grey eyes flashed angrily, burning slits into defiant crystal orbs. "_Useless_," she spat the word as if it burned her tongue. "how dare you label me useless?"

Alex squared up at the threat in Lydia's voice. Her Beast Blood refusing to submit to this woman. In the back of her mind, Alex rolled her eyes.

_'Oh so now you're big and bad when we're up against a human. But don't let Aela's furry hide trot merrily by lest you practically collapse to the floor out of nervous habit.'_

"That's the truth is it not?" the Imperial queried. A distasted edge coloring her usually friendly features. "staying home babysitting a house when your place should be by your Thane's side. And where is he? Definitely not here. So you're useless."

"Ooh." Alex ignored Farkas. His voice was so low only the Wolves could hear.

Danger gleamed behind Lydia's eyes; a thin veil coating the offense hidden beneath. "I serve my purpose, dog. And I do so with great honor." the housecarl remained oblivious to the microscopic twitch all three wolves gave at the unknowingly accurate name.

"And what is that? Protect the house from burglars?" Alex spat a sneering chuckle. Too short to even be deemed laughter. "such an honor to have no better a job than a door lock."

"Locks can be picked," Lydia defended.

"So the Dovakiin can buy a dog. Serves the same purpose."

Lydia stumbled back as if Alex herself had slapped her across her face. "You deem me on the same level as a mutt?"

A sharp, wolfish, grin found its way upon Alex's lips. The housecarl tensed slightly. "When did I say you were ever equal to a dog?"

Lydia's jaw clenched. Her sword hand twitching for her blade like a tick, before she balled her fist and released a heavy breath. The housecarl shifted her gaze to Aela. "I will find my quarters on my own, thank you again for this opportunity." The housecarl gave no time for reply for she turned heel and headed toward the large group of rowdy Companions still having not tired of watching each other fight.

"Wow." Aela said. Eyebrows high and lips grinning wide. "you were more fiery than usual. Something stressing you?"

Alex fought against the odd events of the other night, already repeating in her mind. Shaking her head, "I'll tell you later."

"Alex is a freak among freaks." Farkas butted in smiling. His shoulders shaking again with his long released laughter. The Imperial shot him a deadpan. He merely shrugged, lifting his mead to his lips.

"Whatever for?" Aela questioned curiously.

"I'll tell you later." Alex repeated, downing the remainder of her bottle. She slammed her palms against the table and stood from her seat. "meanwhile, I'm off to target practice."

"Hazed with mead?" Farkas wondered.

Alex snorted. "It was only one bottle. I can hold my drink well enough to handle one bottle. Besides, it should help me better my skills, don't you think? Manage a decent shot in a storm, bag an excellent shot in the sun."Farkas' war paint shifted with the movements of his confused features. Aela merely smirked. "She's already talking nonsense." he muttered to the huntress leaning against his armored shoulder.

Aela chortled shortly, pushing off the man's shoulder as Alex made to leave. "Why not make this more interesting?" she proposed. When the Imperial leveled a questioning look her way, Aela continued. "what say you and I go hunting? She who bags the least game must accompany the next whelp for Trial."Alex chuckled at the huntress. Her arms crossing at her chest.

"I actually enjoy that, remember? You and Vilkas are the ones that find it utterly boring." it was her liking of accompanying Trials that left her trudging along with a certain prejudice housecarl.

Aela seemed to ponder that. A strong hand cupping her chin in thought. "Well you're right, aren't you?" she muttered. Earning laughter from both Alex and Farkas. She thought for a moment. "very well, the loser will have to run all throughout Whiterun absolutely bare."

"That's mature." Alex laughed.

"Actually, that does sound quite tempting." Farkas added. Earning feigned glares from the women. He shrugged, grinning foolishly. "I am a man, after all."

Aela rolled her eyes. "Well? Do you agree or not?"Alex gave a confident smile. Grabbing Aela's hand in a shake.

"Agreed."

Triumphant laughter erupted from Farkas. A bright smile painting his lips. "Wonderful! Whatever the outcome, I still come out the winner."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello hello, yet another chapter. It's a bit longer than the last. Hopefully there are people here to actually enjoy it,**

**Disclaimer: Alex; yay. Others; nay.**

Afternoon sun bathed Alex's skin in gentle warmth. Winds calmed significantly more than during dark hours. It made for better conditions when executing bow shots, as of which she was positioned to do right now. Her bow hung horizontal. Arrow nocked, index finger out. The familiar absence of touch from where the tips of her first two fingers were bandaged for protection against chafing with her bow string. Alex analyzed the Forsworn camp with a closed eye. A nearby tree throwing silent shadow over her position in the high rocks. They acted rather normal away from prying eyes. Laughs and stories trading between pairs at some points. Complaints about the weather, fond taunts shot aimlessly. Even the sentries tripped every now and again when trading shifts.

Alex's grip on her bow's handle shifted. Her fingers opening and closing around the strong wood. She rolled her shoulders slightly, locking in on one of the archers.

They were all so _human_. It was a shame she'd have to kill them. Not even catching their names, finding if they had a forgiving bone in their bodies. But of course, that would make it all the more difficult. And she knew that the slight guilt she already felt looming around her was a pointless thing to even harbor.

Alex released a pitying sigh.

They'd kill her with no remorse. Plunge her head on a pike and strike it alongside the rest with not even a twitch of guilt. They were warriors, and they would fight to the death. It was survival of the fittest. The dominant and the submissive.

And Alex surely would not submit.

She pulled in a long breath. Holding it as she aimed. Her sights fixed on her mark. He stood weapon drawn, eyes scanning the expanse of land beneath his perch. Too bad his eyes weren't set to the skies.

As Alex prepared to release and send her arrow flying true, an ever deep and familiar voice broke her from the deep concentration she had fallen into:

"You know, I would have never assumed that your nipples were a light brown color."

Momentarily stunned, Alex's bow arm shifted. Her fingers slipping from their place, sending the ebony arrow bouncing off the stone surface at which they perched and tumbling into a tree below. Never alerting any Forsworn of their position.

"_What_?" she squeaked aghast. Her eyes locking with a much calmer set of silvery orbs.

Farkas grinned innocently, not acknowledging he'd nearly given away their position. He didn't care much for it anyway, figuring a more direct approach would be faster and much more fun. The Forsworn numbers were great though, and Alex's strategy proved a much smarter choice. Especially since it was only two of them against an entire camp.

The various bridges and tents positioned above stone platform would leave them with too much to look out for. They'd swarm them from all directions of their complex camp. Close combat wouldn't be a problem with Farkas along. It was the archers and magic-wielders that needed to be taken out first.

Alex opted to rid them of any Briarhearts as well, Farkas shot her down immediately. Complaining he'd hadn't had a decent fight, other than his brother, in a long time.

"I always expected your nipples to be a light pink in color. The women I've been with always had light pink nipples." the large, crouching wolf thought for a moment. "then again, I'd only been with Nord women. Serves me right to assume Imperials would be similar."

Behind the slight shock, Alex had to think back shortly. Remembering the numerous times she'd seen Aela bare. Her nipples were a brown color as well, and she was very much a Nord as Farkas was.

Catching her mind before it could wander too far, Alex shook her head of the images and returned to Farkas. "What spurred this sudden need to bring that up _now_?" she whispered roughly.

His armored shoulders pulled up in a shrug. "I assumed it wouldn't be too convenient to say it during combat."

"And right when I'm about to shoot is any better?" Alex asked incredulously. It wasn't the comment that stunned her... not entirely. It was Farkas' uncanny ability to say things at the absolute wrongest time that done her over. Despite how many times he'd done it, the man always caught her by surprise when he blurted out absolute obscenities of another matter at the most inappropriate time.

Again, her large companion gave a shrug, grinning all the while. "Better a time as any."

Releasing an incredulous breath, Alex nocked another arrow, finding her target once again before addressing Farkas once more. "I've got to say your sense of timing is rather... intriguing, friend." she shook her head at her companion's laughter, refraining from joining him. "and just to make things clear about that ordeal; Aela cheated quite shamelessly." upon release, her arrow whistled through the camp, finding her target without effort. The man fell forward, off his watch post to the green plains beneath without alerting any others.

"Did she?" Farkas questioned as Alex lined up another shot for her second archer.

A nod as she let another fly, finding her target below. "We were quite close to Sleeping Tree Camp and Aela," another shot; another contact. "thought it would be amusing to piss one of the mammoths off," she chuckled, shaking her head at the memory before releasing another shot. "sure enough I found myself fending off a very AGITATED mammoth with one of Aela's arrows sticking out of its ass," she paused to join Farkas when he broke out into muffled laughter. "she had her merry way with passing elk while I had to deal with the mammoth, who seemed hellbent on shoving a tusk in the same place her arrow was lodged."

"That's priceless!" Farkas whisper yelled. His armor clinking subtly with his laughter. Alex joined him as she lined up with the camp's mage.

"Yeah well, Aela got hers when I got back from gracing the entire hold with my bouncing bosom." Farkas chuckled at the ridiculous wording.

"What did you do?"

She let the arrow fly. Finally marking Farkas' freedom to barrel through the entire camp at his own leisure. The Mage woman twitched at Alex's release. Her head flitting abruptly toward the sound. The woman rose her hand, and closed it shut. Before it could find its mark, the metal sliver became encased in ice, falling to the ground at the Forsworn mage's feet leaving her unharmed. Alex's blade hissed as she retrieved the Skyforge dagger from its resting place upon her hip. Farkas retrieved the blade from his back, rising from his crouch with anticipation flashing in his shining eyes.

A sly grin blossomed across the Imperial's face as the Mage alerted the entire camp of their hidden presence. Cries of battle already splitting the wind.

"I showed up at her room door right after."

Both Companions jumped from their perch, massive metal boots clashed with the stone beneath and a pair of leathers landed much quieter than the first. All Forsworn swarmed with angry purpose.

"I bet you gave her a good beating. Left her sore for hours," he joked as he raised his blade to clash against another. His foot shooting out to connect with the Forsworn's gut.

Alex chortled suggestively. Ducking under an angry swing from the mage before bringing her dagger down for the expanse of the woman's neck. She jabbed it away with a fire gloved hand. Alex fell to the stone ground, narrowly dodging a coming fireball. She kicked the woman's knees out, her shriek of pain rather loud. The Imperial hurried her blade within the Forsworn's gut.

"Oh I left her sore alright."

XXXX

The Briarheart groaned distantly as his neck fell lax upon Farkas' blade. The Forsworn's headdress fell from his face. Intricate war paint decorated his skin and his eyes slowly faded from what artificial life had once dwelled there. With a grunt, Farkas shoved his blade of the Briarheart. Wiping the crimson across the man's furs. Behind him, Alex braced herself upon her knees. Gently panting her breath back to steady as she watched her companion rid of the magic reliant man.

Farkas chuckled when he took in his comrade's glistening face and spent posture. "Don't exaggerate." he jeered and placed a playful shove upon her shoulder.

Alex shifted, but didn't stumble she cleaned off her blade and returned it to her hip. "I'm not!" she defended and straightened herself out. "a woman can't catch her breath without seeming whiny?" though admittedly she _was_ exaggerating just a bit. Her Beast Blood gave Alex much more endurance than her previous limit.

Farkas chuckled and rummaged through a chest in one of the large tents of the camp. "Not when her face is reminiscent to a suffocating slaughterfish."

Alex's mouth fell in offense, earning laughter from her shield-brother as he emptied the chest of its contents. Planning to sell it with her when they returned to town.

Alex landed a square punch to his arm. His laughter greatened and they emptied the camp of trinkets that would soon make Belethor very happy when they got back.

"It's safe to say you cheated yourself out of ever seeing my light brown nipples ever again." Alex teased as she helped empty the camp of anything that could catch decent coin.

Farkas' ever rumbling laughter resounded from a far tent. His rummaging throwing clanks and jingles to Alex's sharpened ears while she emptied out a drawer into a knapsack.

"Oh, I'll see them again eventually, I'm sure."

The Imperial rolled her eyes, opting to focus on wiping the Forsworn clean of any valuables. She couldn't argue with the truth in Farkas' words. Sharing Beast Blood took away any remnants of physical privacy within the Circle. Everyone had seen each other naked. Before acting out the requirements of hers and Aela's bet, Farkas and Kodlak hadn't seen her clotheless having always been absent after her Changes.

"Oh the perks of being a big hairy werewolf." Alex deadpanned sarcastically. After shutting an empty drawer with her knapsack in hand, she turned around to the smiling face of Farkas. His knapsack much more swollen than hers.

"Indeed." he agreed as he threw it over his shoulder by a strap. "it's a wonderful life."

"Have you got everything?"

He patted his strapped shoulder with a grin. "Anything that's worth anything." he chirped... as much of a chirp as could be managed with such a deep voice and imposing stature.

Alex nodded, securing her knapsack over a shoulder. "Great, let's see what kind of coin we can fetch with all this."

The walk back consisted of the usual. Back and forths between the two. Punching, shoving, laughing. Bragging about who fought better.

The sun had nearly set when they neared the gates to Whiterun. "Aela has a task for you when we get back."

"What is it?" The impish glee shining in the Companion's eyes was hint enough of what she'd have to do... or at least, who she would hae to do it with. A deflated sigh left her lips. Shoulders slumping in defeat. "do the two of you find joy in my misery?"

Silver see rolled at the complaint. "Now you're _really_ exaggerating, friend." his face lit up. "but yes, we do. It's quite amusing."

"What is my punishment this time, oh lord of torture?"

Farkas stilled his steps. Whiterun guards already began wheeling the front gate open for the two. His silvery eyes were void of any mirth that had once reflected there. Alex stopped with him, looking on in curiosity.

"You know we don't lug you with Lydia just to make you miserable, right?" A pointed look brought remnants of mirth back to Farkas' eyes. "ok not _entirely _because of that." the mirth dimmed down to a calm roiling. The years of experience he had over her now shining through. "we do it so you two can learn to endure one another."

"Must it be so often?"

The duo walked on to Belethor's shop to cash in their items.

"We're not known for exercising ease, friend. The two of you have a lot of heat that could cause distractions in the field."

"Then don't dispatch us together," Alex insisted. "saves hassle and agitation."

Farkas shook his head, a light disapproval in his face. "We're a unit, Al. A healthy quarrel now and then is welcome but we're still shield-siblings and we fight for our own during battle. You pledged it yourself after Lydia's trial that you'd fight by her side until dying breath. That can't be done if you can hardly stand the sight of one another."

Alex blinked. "Perhaps that's due to the endless amounts of times you've bandied us together."

Farkas smirked. "Perhaps. But like I said, we don't take things easy. You two have a lot of animosity brewing, and it could lower our efficiency."

The Imperial sighed. Subtle irritation weighing down her shoulders as Farkas pushed open the door to Belethor's shop. "I'll admit I act rather childishly toward her. But you can't dismiss her prejudice against me. Just because I'm an Imperial doesn't mean I favor the Empire's reign. I don't even dabble into politics too much." Alex smiled politely at Belethor's happy greeting and emptied her knapsack onto his counter. "she judged me unfairly from the second we met and ever since then I've only given as good as I get."

"Perhaps now you can attempt to show her the errors in her perception of you without falling into a shouting match." Farkas offered as he spilled his share into the pile. "as much as it brings a warm amusement to my heart to watch you two quarrel," Alex rolled her eyes at his sarcastic words. "it could only lead to bad plains if you go on this way."

"I've tried that already. She's utterly incessant in her levels of agitation. It's like trying to level with a rabid skeever."

A thrumming chuckle escaped both men. "Still quarreling with the Dragonborn's housecarl?" the merchant asked knowingly. When Alex nodded, Belethor merely chortled. "she's good people. She's just wary around non-Nord's. Believe me, I should know. She didn't even want to buy anything from me because she'd believed I rose the prices out of greed." the man's eyes grew fond as he drifted to a distant memory. "that woman could be unbearable at times but she's worth the effort, she makes a fierce ally. Saved my shop when the Stormcloaks took over Whiterun; believed my merchandise couldn't be trusted cuz I'm a Breton and I'd had supposed 'dark tidings' back home." he shook his head with a soft smile. "she stood up for me. Stormcloaks let me on my merry way."

A warm grin spread across Alex's face. "Thank the gods they did too, otherwise we'd have to find another sucker to sell to, huh?" A chorus of laughter filled the store, after departing words Belethor paid his share and started on putting away the the away to Jorrvaskr, Alex recalled something.

"What is my task, anyhow?"


	4. Chapter 4

**I can't tell if my viewers are liking the story so far. Going on chapter 4 and still no reviews. Could I at least get one? Pretty please? ****This one came pretty quick. I've got another chapter uploaded already and waiting to publish, the day I upload depends on if I get feedback if this story's any good, and if I have access to a computer by then.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just Alex.**

Were it not for the steady stream of water whistling softly about the rocks beneath their hiking feet or the large waterfall roaring against their ears, the atmosphere around them would lull to a roiling silence. Alex didn't much feel the bulk of her silent tension, for the Imperial's attention was elsewhere. Enraptured by the glorious wilderness and glistening ripples of the river below as they climbed the stony hill. Bright sunlight threw shadow in just the perfect angles between the trees from above, painting beauty in its most truest form; nature. She'd found herself wishing she could capture the moment somehow. She'd stop to sketch it out, but frankly her artistry skills were far from spectacular. And the questionable air around her company stirred an uncertainty within her. Though her eyes drank in mother Skyrim's many beauties on their hike to their destination, the thick, unwelcoming air surrounding Lydia was unquestionable. Her Beast Blood wasn't needed to sense it and its intensity. The oddity around her Nordic company was magnetized by her lack of insults. Or rather, her lack of speaking in general.

Lydia always had something to say. Whether a brash joke, a haughty remark. Or the greatly favored; disdainful snipe at Alex's expense who in turn, came back with one of her own. But it seemed she'd had nothing to say. For once, absolutely nothing to say. Their eyes had merely met when Alex arrived at Jorrvaskr to accompany Lydia before she'd venture off to clear a cave of bears. No sneer, no salutary gibe. Not even her thinly shaped eyebrows locked into their place knitted together above her eyes as they'd attempt to will Alex to dust on any regular day. The only expression adorning Lydia's face was the stone mask she wore before Alex had even caught her attention. The same behavior lasted the entire walk, and even now it held strong.

Lydia was actually bearable, and it cast suspicion within her werewolf company.

"You seem troubled." Alex remarked as she followed her taller comrade up the stony hill toward the maw of the cave hidden behind the waterfall. Alex agreed with herself since the start of their journey that Lydia's sudden silence was a refreshing change from routine. But the obviously weighing atmosphere around her sent Alex toward unease.

She'd expected to be ignored. Having been so the entire trip, which she didn't mind at all, but surprisingly Lydia answered. "What would ever imply such a thing?" though her tone was saturated in sarcasm, Alex surprisingly felt a slight relief at the woman's communication.

Though it was rhetorical, Alex set to answer Lydia's question. "We've traveled nearly half the day away, and you've still yet to insult my character." she'd promised Farkas that she'd right things with Lydia. At least change the way she spoke to her. The idea of submitting, even in this form itched her Beast most uncomfortably. But only more fire could sprout from that of an angry tongue. So now, she'd prepared to lay off a bit on the taunting, most of it was really just to jest. To irritate the Nord woman because her reactions were just hilarious. But she really knew how to get under the wolf's skin.

"Right. I can't believe Aela would stuff me with the cowardly Imperial than to send me off on my own." Lydia threw a look over her armored shoulder. Alex nearly reeled at the near vacancy in them but she'd squared her composure. "is that better?" her silken voice only a shadow of its former venom, though it still boiled with concealed hostility.

Alex's brows pulled together in slight. The neck of the waterfall now coming overhead. "Not as much as I'd hoped." The entrance sat at their right. Rays of sun casting across the inside, shining light into the dim cave. Alex's hand found the comforting handle of her blade as the Nord lead them further in.

Bears. A lot of them. And from the smell of it, it was mating season. They would be _extremely_ irritable once they were interrupted.

Lydia took another step, head rolling here and there in search of any movements. Alex clasped a hand around the woman's wrist, halting her movements before her heavy steel boot could find the neck of a rather large branch. Lydia jolted at the touch, Alex as well. The curious electricity licking at her skin almost making her shiver.

"Eyes keen." Alex spoke hushedly, retrieving her blade from her hip. "they won't be happy about our presence here." she felt the warm flesh in her hand tense before it was snatched away. Lydia's scowl slowly forming upon her face once again, though her eyes gleamed an uncertainty.

"Who wouldn't be?" she took the step, retrieving her sword with no regard for stealth... As usual. "let's just finish this, already." as Alex's eyes shut tight she wondered which was louder, the harsh splinter of the branch under the weight of Lydia's boot, or the sharp screech of her unsheathing blade.

Alex's ears twitched when they picked up the distasted growls of the occupants much deeper in the cave. She should've brought a bigger blade.

"Way to go, housecarl." she grumbled as she coated her dagger in poison she'd retrieved from her satchel.

Lydia squared. Her posture readied while the numerous roars elevated until even _her_, much weaker, ears could hear. "Any estimates on their numbers?"

Alex held in an incredulous snort. "_Now_ you suddenly care for numbers?" when Lydia responded with an impatient stare, Alex released her snort. "from the sound of them," _smell_ of them. "I'd say around nine." then she remembered it was mating season. "probably ten, actually." their scents were mixed and permeated all over the cave. Exact numbers were slightly skewed.

The near astonished look in Lydia's eyes would have proved amusing, had Alex not been nursing a horrifying scenario in which Lydia charged the many beasts and ended up horny bear food. She really hoped the woman wouldn't be foolish.

Alex listened as their heavy steps brought them ever closer to the wide chamber they stood in. Three gapes gave way to tunnels where the bears would surely charge through.

Lydia stood quietly for a moment as the beasts rapidly neared. "Do you happen to have any more of that?" she bumbled when Alex tossed the empty vial to the side. She gave a smirk before retrieving another and tossing it.

"I suggest you hurry." Alex whispered while she climbed a high ledge. It'd only be good for one attack, but assuring one kill was better than no kill at all. "and don't get yourself killed, please." it surprised her to hear the sincerity in her voice.

The bears stampeded in, teeth bared in blind fury when they spotted Lydia in the middle of the chamber. She poured a crude coat of poison over the expanse of her blade as they flurried in. One particular bear gaining advantage on all the others. He charged in for the kill, rising up on his haunches and he bellowed. Lydia barely emptied her poison before the bear was tackled aside. She watched in sudden shock as Alex rolled with the beast. Wondering how she'd survive its weight before they stopped with the Imperial atop. She ran her blade across his throat, spraying a neat line of crimson across her cheek as his blood flew.

Those azure eyes connected with the Nord's as something within her shifted at the sight of Alex crouched over the bear. Soft face decorated in fresh blood. Lydia shook herself alert and raised her sword in time to collide with an incoming swipe of another seething bear. Her blade whistled as she fell into battle with the beasts. Grunts escaping her lips every now and again whenever their superior strength proved an advantage.

Alex shoved her dagger against a bear's exposed stomach. Burying her blade to the hilt in his head when he lowered to bellow an angry roar at her.

Both warriors' blades sang as they slowly ridded the cave of its occupants. Roars, both human and animal, merged within the large chamber. Alex's near endless stamina serving her well as the bears began to overwhelm her.

She registered Lydia's combating grunts while the woman fought. Constantly bringing distractions across her mind as three bears neared her.

"Well fuck..." Alex muttered to no one when she felt the cool cave wall touch against her back.

Claws and teeth barreled at her. Only narrowly had she dodged almost all of them. With thickly grunts of her own she managed to dispatch two. The last dealing a harsh blow to her head. The Imperial's world blurred and her ears began to ring. Her nose smelling only iron while she bled. Her dagger fell to the grass as she collapsed on her side. Hands bracing the grass trying to push herself up. Suddenly she didn't mind the idea of being her Wolf right about now. Less fragile. The blow didn't hurt as much as it would have had it not been for durable skin, but by the gods if it didn't sting. She cursed her body for being so flimsy. Head shaking to try to straighten her addled mind enough to find her dagger as she felt the bear drawing near. Her ears still rang and her blood still sang to her nose as she palmed the ground around her for her blade. The slight pounding in her head began to lull and her healing already began to take effect. Her sights were still blurred when she saw a large ball of brown stand high in front of her and behind all the insistent ringing she heard his roar. And another, much more human one right after.

Suddenly Lydia was before her. The backs of the woman's boots displaying blurry leather before the Imperial's eyes. Alex palmed her head as Lydia engaged the beast in battle. Plunging her blade deep in his shoulder and kicking him away. The abrupt shake Alex gave helped align her vision slightly while she began to sit up.

A cold steel touched her cheek when Lydia rounded Alex's hips, hoisting her up from the ground as the angry roaring of the bear broke past the ringing in the Imperial's ears.

Lydia finalized with a plunge to his skull before hurrying the dazed Imperial out of the cave. Her taller stature helping keep the woman upright while she shuffled her to the sunlight, and more importantly, the water.

"So much for not getting yourself killed." Lydia grumbled. Alex didn't bother fighting back the lazy grin that spread her mouth. Her free hand thumbing at her forehead as she let the Beast Blood heal her. Lydia held her under the gentle stream in the entryway. Brushing some of the Imperial's ebony locks from her face to clean off the blood that had gathered. Alex grimaced while various cuts sprang to life across her skin, a hiss was pulled between her lips.

"I knew you couldn't fight." Lydia jabbed. Though a smile could be heard in her voice. Alex opened her eyes to a gently beaming Lydia. Her eyes drowning in dancing smugness. A certain glee shined her skin in a glow she'd never witnessed upon the Nord's normally serious face. Alex found she couldn't care less about the taunt. "probably should've worn heavier armor for a bear trip."

Lydia steadied her away from the wall of water. Settling the Imperial against the side of the cave entrance, herself standing in front of it. Alex needed a distraction. Surely if Lydia stood any longer she'd witness the cuts closing themselves up and it would only lead to further hassle. She couldn't think with the ringing in her ears and the last remnants of iron in her nose but a distraction came nonetheless. A grizzly growl echoed from the cave and rumbling paws thundered against the ground. Lydia's attention flew toward the entrance a second too late for a hulking bundle of bristling brown fur sent her soaring through the air, passed the massive waterfall behind her and into the lake bellow. Her screams were muffled by the sound of splashing water.

"Lydia!" Alex jumped from the moss covered rocks she leaned upon and ran toward the wall of water where she'd disappeared but jagged claws ceased her efforts. She barely reared from the blow, suffering only a cut to the cheek where her other wounds had already closed.

"I can't-" Lydia's panicked voice reached her from below. "too heavy! My arm-" her sentence died in a fit of gurgles and a sudden realization hit Alex dead on.

She was drowning.

Alex prepared to jump from the high ledge. Leaving the hulking bear behind but he wasn't having it. His insistent anger driving blow after blow at Alex's dodging form. Every second he wasted stoked an angering fire in the Imperial's gut for her companion was drowning with every lapsing moment. Her Beast rumbled within, growing irate with the bear as well as he attempted ravishing the woman in bloody crimson.

The ringing finally depleted and her ears were free to sense, but only to the horrifying realization that she could hear no struggling in the the water. No thoughtless splashing or gurgling cries for help. The bear's beastly roaring was a dim hum at the back of Alex's mind for her ears searched desperately for any signs of fight below.

A peak had hit within Alex. Her patience dying completely. Her cerulean eyes were drowned in blotches of burning amber like spots of spreading ink upon parchment until only gold coated them. A beastly growl rumbled within her chest escaping her bared teeth as she felt her claws begin to form. She stopped it there. For her transformation could only go too far. She would have no time left to save her drowning comrade.

Alex released a bellowing roar, the guttural sound striking fear into the beast to the bone who swiftly turned and ran downhill.

Alex wasted no time, retrieving the quiver from her back and tossing it at the lakes edge before throwing herself through the waterfall and soared for the lake. Her claws reverted back to fingers as they broke the surface. Her world was taken over by water and she searched the lake for Lydia. The weeds below didn't help Alex's sights and anxiety slowly seeped within her chest at Lydia's absence underneath. Where in Hircine's name was she? Her armor should have been easy enough to spot but the lake was deeper than it looked and proved difficult to maneuver around all the dancing stalks.

A weight dropped in the wolf's chest when a glint of light reflected off Lydia's armor, acting as beacon to her rapidly descending body. She looked like dead weight as she sank further, Alex addled as quickly as she could manage toward the swiftly falling Nord. Her bow tangling around some stalks of seaweed. She suddenly regretted not stripping her weapon too. But her strength proved stronger than the plant. Her hand clasped around the collar of Lydia's cuirass, making quick work of the latches before throwing it aside to sink to the bottom. She threw a limp arm around her shoulder and swam them both for air. The way Lydia's head lulled against the Imperial's chest made the weight in there twist and clench.

Alex's mouth ravaged the air in greedy gasps when they broke the surface. Her arms wading them toward the edge, all the while keeping Lydia's head above water.

Lydia collapsed against the grass a soaked clump of weight. Her linen clothed chest not moving. Wisps of her hair stuck to her cheeks and her head lulled to the side.

"Lydia." Alex straddled the woman. Gently slapping her cheek to wake her up. The Nord gave no movement, and it only made the dead weight in the Imperial's heart clench harshly. "dammit woman don't die on me!"

Alex pressed her ear to the woman's chest, hearing liquid splash around in her lungs and swiftly turned her to her stomach. She batted Lydia's back hoping to force the water out that way. The force she expelled dangerously nearing deadly with her anxious desperation.

"Wake up you damned frustrating housecarl!" as if she'd heard her demands, the woman hacked below her. Alex rolled her to her back after water water spilled from her mouth and nose. Her eyes finally opened for the first time since they'd escaped the water and the weight within Alex's chest vanished into nothing as relief washed over her. She palmed the pale Nord's cheeks, noting she was paler than the usual as her hacks died down. Water droplets fell from Alex's dangling locks to splash upon Lydia's face. The Imperial's head had drooped. Her eyes sliding shut while her relief drowned her in the absence of the weight, nearly making her feel lightheaded.

Lydia groaned underneath her and shifted slightly. Her hand coming up to absently grip the leather armor casing Alex's ribs. "Oh damn it." Lydia muttered exhausted. "and there I was all proud of saving your hide for once."

A chuckle left Alex's lips as she removed her hands from Lydia's warm skin to hold herself up by the grass on either side of her head. "You probably should've warn lighter armor for a water trip." she reflected the Nord's earlier words.

Lydia snorted sluggishly. Eyes slipping shut briefly. "That made no sense."

Alex grinned. "I'm trying to turn your words around on you, thanks."

Lydia's stomach twitched with her laugh. "And you're failing... rather miserably." Alex shook her head grinning. Relief still making her feel almost giddy. After rising from her perch above the woman, Alex walked over to her quiver. Retrieving a sleek arrow before strapping the rest to her back and equipping her bow.

"What are you doing?" Lydia asked behind her.

But Alex merely answered by nocking her arrow and taking aim for the foot of the hill leading back to the cave. Using her straightened senses to track down the location of the bear. He should be coming down soon. Sure enough, his hulking form nearly rammed everything in his path. Stones rolling down with him as he ran. Releasing a breath, Alex let the arrow fly. Striking the bear through the head. He roared a grunt before falling dead.

When Alex turned around, Lydia sat inclined on her hands, shapely brows raised above her head. "I probably should have allowed you to take that cat out during my Trial. Would've saved me the pain."

"That was sort of the point." Alex replied. Holding out a hand. Lydia took it, hoisting herself to her feet to stand inches taller than her company. Her eyes flickered to Alex's face. Narrowing when a realization came to her. The Nord's pale hand came up to touch a thumb to Alex's cheek, who'd slowly turned confused.

Lydia's digit rubbed a spot on Alex's skin. Her brows pulled together in examination. Her cool breath chilled Alex's moist cheeks. "Where are your cuts?"

The Imperial's eyes flew wide. "Uh.. I healed them already."

"Oh." Lydia murmured. Her eyes examining the rest of her face for any wounds. Which she would not find. Then their eyes locked, only inches away, cooling each other's skin with rhythmic chilling breaths. As if just realizing what she was doing, Lydia blinked. Her hand flying from the Imperial's skin as if burned and her sparkling grey eyes flitting off to the side. "Good. Can't risk an infection."

After blinking away her sudden haze, Alex managed a sly grin. "You're concerned for my health? How touching."

Lydia frowned, though not with nearly as much venom as in the past. Her strong arms crossed before her chest and she stared at her comrade. "No. I think the lake water is filthy. You wouldn't be able to go back down there and retrieve my cuirass."

Alex blinked. "Why do I have to do it?"

"Because you're the one that stripped me of it." _stripped me of it_. Why did those words decide to linger in Alex's mind?

"Fair enough," Alex conceded. "you're probably too scared to get it yourself anyway."

Lydia's mouth fell. Alex laughed and went to retrieve the armor, the water muffling the rantings of the Nord standing in the grass behind her. Her reactions. Always so hilarious.

**Hopefully you guys are enjoying the story out there. I honestly can't tell. Review please.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I only own Alex. And she doesn't seem too happy about that.**

Alex swallowed down the cool mead. Her eyes flickering with the reflection of the fire pit before her. Her hair was still moist against her neck and she brought a hand to comb stray locks away from her face as she took another swig. The inn hummed with bard's chiming song and she found herself tapping her shoe to the soft rhythm at her spot atop a bench table. The Imperial's eyes shifted over to Lydia constantly. Analyzing the woman's expression in hopes of deciphering her mood. Both women were exhausted from their tasks. Alex more mentally than physically for her Beast Blood provided a wide variety of perks. The walk back to Whiterun proved too long to try to cram in one day, for Lydia anyway. Had she been dispatched alone, Alex could easily had Changed and ran back home before midnight. They both agreed to rest until tomorrow before continuing on their trip back and found themselves sitting with drinks in hand before even renting out a room. In their surprisingly comfortable silence, Alex recalled her conversation with Farkas. Remembering her promise to work things out with Lydia, or at least try to ease their relationship more.

"So why do you hate me?"

It was a blunt question. And maybe wouldn't lead them to steady waters. Alex's foot stilled upon the bench and she set her bottle down on the table she sat on. Her position gave clear display of Lydia's eyes flicking to her, the woman rested her elbows on the same table. Lydia sat properly on their bench, and it left the two women practically facing each other.

"I don't hate you." when Alex leveled an unconvinced stare toward her, Lydia continued. "though still I don't much favor you."

"You've made that quite clear. But, why do you resent me so? It seemed as if you harbored absolute hatred for me since the moment we met... which makes no sense to me since you didn't know two things about me."

Lydia released a heavy breath. Tilting her head back as she gulped her mead. She fingered the lip of her bottle in concentration. "I was bitter at the time."

Alex blinked. "Only at the time? Because I sensed no difference in your insults the entire time you spent with us."

When Lydia spoke again her voice carried practiced patience. "Mostly at the time."

Alex took a swig of her mead. "Well Farkas has been bugging me about making an effort to relieve the strain in our relationship," she thought for a moment. "if this _is_ a relationship. So to appease one of my closest and dearest friends, I've come to a simple solution we could try out."

It was probably the mead relaxing Lydia's system that lead the woman to actually listen when Alex said, "We forget the course of the last few weeks and start this over _civilly_."

Lydia contemplated. "I see no harm in it."

Alex nodded, "Excellent." and held out her hand. "I'm Alexandria, I serve as a Companion in Whiterun and am quite sharp with a bow. I'd say I'm the best out of all the Companions, but Aela would beg to differ."

Lydia stared at her hand for a few moments. Pondering whether to play along. Eventually she grasped it, and the mysterious shock came alive against their skin. "Lydia; sworn housecarl to the Dragonborn although his constant ventures and ability to fend for himself have deemed my purpose null and void. Therefore leading him to offering me a place within the Companions to busy myself during his absence." her tone barely hovered over bitter. Eyes darkening as she spoke her introduction, which she punctuated in the end by gulping down more of her mead.

The easy smile that had found purchase about Alex's face slowly fell. A sneaking guilt snaking into her gut as she watched Lydia's flickering grey eyes revert to her bottle of mead.

"Oh gods," Alex muttered lowly when she watched the Nord woman look down. "Lydia, about what I said the other day..."

Lydia raised a pale hand. "No need. You spoke only truth. I've the job of a simple watch dog; guarding a house that no sane man would dare even enter without the Dragonborn's permission." her voice took the short plunge to bitter. Her eyes growing sharp as she downed another gulp. "I'm useless."

Alex nearly winced at the sharp twist her chest gave. "My words were sharp and only meant to offend. I must apologize."

Lydia's near disbelieving stare slowly raise to meet that of Alex's sincere gaze. "I've not apologized for my venomous tongue, yet you do so for speaking the truth." it almost sounded like a question. Emanating confusion and disbelief as Lydia stared on. A certain edge dancing among her eyes.

Alex shrugged, shaking her head. "Matters not. I've wronged you, and an apology was in order. I could care less for your endless insults, they don't bother me. But hurting the feelings of another, another undeserving of it, that bothers me. And it would have pestered me to no end had I let it sit."

Confusion and slight suspicion reflected behind Lydia's eyes. They searched Alex's own for a sincerity that wasn't hard to find. "I'd have thought you'd label me deserving."

A head shake. "You're insufferable, but you don't deserve to be hurt. At least I believe it so."

"Whatever for?"

"You have honor. You're ready to prove yourself in battle. Almost childishly eager for a fight although you veil it well behind a serious mask. Though you could barely endure my presence you saved me earlier when you could easily have let me die and fed a lie to the others of my demise." but Alex knew Lydia wouldn't have it in her to witness a death she could have otherwise prevented. It didn't seem in her character.

The Nord pondered her comrade's words. Fingers absently ringing the lip of her mead once again as she thought. Then her brows pulled together, her head began to slowly shake.

"Well damn it," she said to herself. Grey eyes connecting with Alex. "I could have let you die? And here I was considering consequences had I chosen that route."

Alex blinked. Leveling a deadpan stare at the hidden mirth in Lydia's eyes. "Ha-ha. A jester. I would never have guessed it."

A small grin found purchase among the Nord's lips, a brief laugh left her. She ran a hand through her hair, freeing her face of rebellious strands. Alex could barely conceal the surprise she felt at their conversation. She, and Lydia. Lydia and she. Having a conversation without falling into arguments seconds in. And her smile, no matter how small, her smile was breathtaking. Not to mention Lydia had actually attempted a joke. It had to be the mead. And so they ordered a couple more.

When both women stumbled to the bar to rent separate rooms, it became apparent how much they lacked in the needed amount of coin. Alex having only brought enough for food, a lot of which went to their mead, not planning to rest an entire night outside of a small camp. When added with Lydia's coin, they still fell short.

"We've only enough for one." Alex observed through partially hazing eyes. The bartender refused to give them a discount.

"I'll not be leaving a warm inn to spend the night on a bedroll somewhere."

The mead hadn't relaxed everything apparently. Alex pushed the scattered gold toward the man. "We'll take the one."

"Right well, I'll taking the bed." Lydia stated when they were lead to their room, nearly stumbling.

Alex let out a sarcastic laugh. "Doubtful. I'm taking the bed." she locked their door after shutting it.

"I claimed it first."

"It's not claimed until its been lain upon." Alex absently told the Nord before her. She discarded her bow and arrows, laying her empty blade sheath over the table at the far corner of the room, Lydia doing the same.

Then both women froze. Realization striking Alex's seemless words. They stared at each other, reading each other's movements. Then their eyes flitted to the empty bed in the opposite corner, tidied and piled with layers of fur. Their eyes met again for the briefest second before Lydia burst into a full sprint for the mattress. Alex followed afterward, diving for the bed at the same time that Lydia did. The bed squeaked and creaked with their combined weights bombarding the worn wood. Lydia's cold armor bit at the Imperial's warm skin as she was crushed between the Nord and the wall.

"Get off." Alex gently warned. No true malice in her tone as Lydia's armor pressed against her heated arm. The mead had her swimming deliciously, her head feeling light as a dishcloth.

"You get off." Lydia returned with as much gentle teasing.

"You'll break the bed with that armor of yours."

"Not if you take the floor."

"I'll not take the floor."

"Nor will I."

Both women stared each other down, patiently waiting for the other to cave. As Alex stared into lightly lidded sparkling grey gems she noted that Lydia was a lot friendlier when she was buzzed. And seemed a lot more tolerant.

_'She'll have to tolerate sleeping on the floor then.'_

After moments of expectant silence, Alex shrugged with a finality and discarded her leather bracers, tossing them near the table that held their equipment. She gave an innocent smile to the confusion drawn across her companion's face as she pulled her damaged leather top from her body. Soon joining it with her bracers.

"What are you doing?"

Alex kicked off her boots and stripped of her pants as well before laying back on the soft furs in nothing but her underthings. "Just getting comfortable in _my_ bed." her wolfish grin flourished when Lydia gave an incredulous stare. "feel free to take the floor whenever you're ready. I'm in no rush." she folded her hands beneath her head.

The Imperial heard Lydia's loud gulp from behind closed eyes. The Nord's smoky orbs drank in the the swell of her breasts and the rhythmic rising and falling of her stomach, divided four even ways that ended in curves at the very bottom of her hips disappearing beneath her underwear. And the scars. Strangely attractive. Alex's nostrils flared. Her eyes popping open and catching Lydia in the middle of her ogling. A shaped brow rose and the wolf couldn't deny that the smell of Lydia's building lust, sprouting from under the alcohol, was rather enticing. And how she witnessed the Nord's darkening eyes shade by shade stirred a hunger within her.

Dark grey eyes connected with her. Hunger breaking through cracks of Lydia's drunken haze. And with a sudden conviction, she stated lowly, "I'll not take the floor." her tone less teasing than how Alex had said earlier. Though it didn't contain hostility either. Just a statement. But with a questionably strong power behind it. And Alex had found she couldn't argue with it. And it was not because of the waking heat in her core... not entirely, anyway. A silent agreement that the women themselves hadn't caught.

She didn't wait for affirmation, not a subtle nod or a simplistic shrug. Lydia undressed herself of her own accord. Working the latches of her cuirass before lifting it from her body. Her darkened eyes not releasing the Imperial for even a second. Something about the way she moved had Alex entranced. Transfixed on the lustful Nord as she exposed more and more supple skin with every ridding of her heavy armor. A pink tongue snaked out to wet the wolf's dry lips as Lydia discarded her greaves, laying only in a linen top and underwear.

Their intense lock hadn't broken for a second as they lay across from each other. None uttering a word nor moving an inch. Lydia's every breath stroked the wolf's creamy skin like a feather upon satin. Nearly coaxing little tremors from the woman as she reacted to the lust in the air. Alex could barely conceal the pleasant growl, but conceal it she did in favor of a deeply husky trembling sigh. Lydia's body inched closer, her choppy breath fanning alcohol laden air to the wolf's nose. Alex's head swam in her alcohol induced haze, the heat gathering between her legs nearly mirroring that of the heat emanating from the fit Nord a hairsbreadth away.

Alex had never seen Lydia this close, to the point that her body heat hit her in waves. That her shallow breathing sent small strands astray. Alex observed specs of light blue peppered across the grey of her eyes flaking beautifully in them.

"Alex." her whisper coaxed a shiver from the wolf, cooling her feverish skin and Lydia leaned in closer.

"Yeah?" she whispered back into the Nord's hovering neck.

Both women felt a jolt when Lydia touched her lips to Alex's ear. "You're cold." a warm arm snaked round the Imperial's hip. "I can feel it." Was she? It felt awfully warm to her. Perhaps it was the alcohol warming her insides and depressing her senses, because when Lydia's warmth engulfed her, she couldn't help but melt into her blissful touch, and find it surprisingly delicious.

Yes, it had to be the alcohol.

Alex rested a hand over Lydia's forearm, tugging her impossibly closer. "We should probably do something about that."

Her neck warmed with Lydia's breathy laugh. Her nose running a light trail against her skin. "We should."

**Whoa. This doesn't look good, or maybe it does. I don't know. What do you think will be in store for the two in the morning? A stuffy room with furs strewn about? Lydia finally taking the floor? Alex finally taking the floor? Will they _both_ be on the floor? More importantly, how will the two react to waking up to each other in the morning? Leave your opinion... if you want.**

**And THANK YOU to those who reviewed last chapter. It is immensely appreciated.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own Alex, nothing more.**

Soft. So soft. The skin pressed beneath her cheek and under her arm felt silken to the touch and warmed her to her very core. A familiar perfume of Lydia's natural scent reached Alex's nose with a chorus of many other blending smells that she'd found was oddly familiar. The Imperial shifted, huddling closer to this impossibly soft warmth while her nose observed the room on its own. It was stuffy. Permeated with Lydia; her perfume, her hair, her sweat, her lust. Alex's nostrils flared. Lydia's lust, her nectar. Her own lust and nectar and sweat and activities saturated the room in an almost suffocating way. The faint smell of alcohol now stale and withered, absolutely pale in comparison to the others.

Oh gods.

The warm bundle shifted in Alex's arms. A soft and content hum rumbling sleepily. Her shocked blue eyes flew open, instantly meeting the back of greatly disheveled ebony locks above impossibly creamy looking skin. Save for superficial scratch marks running down the expanse of Lydia's back.

"Oh shit," It escaped the Imperial's lips shakingly. A once over at her body showed that she was bare. As well as Lydia. Absolutely bare. "Hircine's name..."

Lydia shifted once again, turning round in her sleep and Alex merely lifted her arm to allow the woman easier movement, too struck to react in any other way. The Nord's chest suffered the same fate as her back, scratched and bruised in little lovebites trailing all over. Her pale skin spotted on the neck, breasts, thighs, stomach, shoulders.

"Sweet Talos," her mutter was much louder than the previous whisper, the shock becoming too much. It stirred the slumbering Nord.

Grey eyes blinked awake and a brief smile took upon Lydia's lips as she gazed contentedly at Alex's shellshocked face. The Imperial watched the elegant blue flakes in Lydia's grey orbs shift and glisten while they stayed trained on her. Lydia's content grin seemed immovable.

Then it hit her.

Lydia blinked once, eyes widening to match the Imperial's and a shocked yelp bursted from her mouth as she jumped away from the naked woman and landed to the ground in a sloppy heap. Her limbs smacked against the wooden ground in a manner that would have sent the watching Imperial laughing had she not been absolutely frozen.

Her movements fanned the scents around the room, renewing bits of Alex's blurred memories.

_Glistening skin, demanding hands and an expert mouth moving against her. Sweat coating them both in their vigorous activities._

"What in Talos' name are you doing?" Lydia squeaked standing from the ground and realizing her lack of attire. She grabbed a fur and wrapped it around herself, Alex rose onto her knees.

"I- I don't, I just woke up like this!" she answered, voice desperate and anxious and utterly confused as she slowly found herself fighting to keep her eyes above the neck.

"You're naked!"

"I know!"

"Why in Oblivion are you naked? Why are our clothes on the floor!"

The Imperial's hands dropped. The clues all pointing her one direction and the memories trickling through all told her.

_Desperate grinding, clever tongues thrumming deftly over pulsing heat. Insistent rolling of hips, hands burying in ebony locks as eyes were squeezed shut and a desperate mewl saturated the hungry air while they were lost in their passion._

"I'm sure you know why." Alex answered lowly. "we weren't too drunk to forget it completely."

Lydia's panicked eyes gave Alex all the answer she needed, the comprehension and understanding of what transpired hours before. Her head slowly shaked, "Oh gods,"

XXXX

As soon as they burst through the doors to the customary hum of activity within Jorrvaskr, Lydia brisked straight for the sleeping quarters. Absolutely decided on making use of the bath. Alex headed the opposite direction. Mind swimming with absolute chaos and body lightly heating at the insistent images that bounced around her head. With her mind so lost in tangles and imagery, Alex didn't sense Farkas' approaching form. His face etched in suspicious disbelief as he questioned the scents coming off of his close companion.

"Alex?" She stopped in her tracks. Eyes wide and confused and slightly panickes as they stared into Farkas'. His nostrils flared when he sniffed the air again, assuring he wasn't mistaken. "why do you smell like.."

He couldn't finish for slender hands grabbed him by the cuirass and snatched him close. "Something happened,"

Worry filled his face and his hands came up to clap Alex on the shoulders "Did something go wrong in the cave-"

"No no no! It happened after that," Alex interjected. Wincing at the loud chatter resounding all around her. She pulled Farkas toward the stairs. "Lydia and I slept together last night."

XXXX

Alex frowned against the near bellowing peals of laughter Aela emanated. Her eyes nearly tearing while she held up a towel for Alex to take.

"Wow. When we say try to get along with her you really deliver,"

Alex shoved the guffawing huntress where she sat at the lip of the tub. "This isn't a laughing matter, Aela," she wrapped the towel around herself and jogged to their shared room.

"Oh yes it is," Aela insisted, wiping her eyes of tears when she sat on her bed opposite of Alex's "we ask you to endure each other, then you turn around and fuck each other. Oh it's priceless!"

Safe in the confines of their room, Alex allowed the itching growl to escape her chest. Eyes shooting daggers at the loudly laughing Aela. "Could you quiet down, we don't know if she's near."

"Please, the two of you were probably far from quiet last night. I must say, Alex, your mastery of social skills is rather impressive. What would you do if I asked you to assist Vilkas with his sword? Would you go for the steel or the meal?"

Alex released a frustrated groan, throwing her towel aside not caring where it landed before fumbling on a set of clothing. "You're such a headache."

Aela smirked, a hand coming up to cup her chin. "You're right. Considering your skills, you'd probably opt for both."

"Aela!"

Her hands flew up and a fresh bout of laughter exploded from her. "I jest! Goodness, one would think after a night of hot boiling sex with the woman you could barely stand, you'd be in a better mood." then a mischievous grin slowly melted across her war painted lips, "was she not good?"

Alex shot a glare at her close friend. Preparing to retort when quick raps sounded from the door. "Are you decent?" Farkas sounded much too excited in Alex's opinion.

"Much more than she was last night!" Aela answered between laughter and Farkas pushed through the door resounding with his own howling guffaws.

Alex palmed her face, thankful Lydia's quarters was on the opposite side of the hall.

"The both of you are being absolutely no help, I'll have you know." Alex complained, dropping to her bed in a childish fit.

Farkas sat beside her still buzzing with mirth and Aela walked over to sit on her other side. "Sorry, Alex. The news is just surprising. Just before you left you were giving me a speech about giving as good as you get. Suddenly you return smelling of sex and Lydia?"

Aela quieted a bit, nudging Alex in the shoulder. "I'm assuming you got hours of licking and gave your fingers in return?"

Alex fell into a blank, irritated stare as her friends bursted into fresh waves of laughter. Vibrating the stone walls at their volume. "Yes, yes. Laugh it up. Enjoy my misery, as you always do."

Aela cooed teasingly, pinching the stressed Imperial's cheek between her fingers only to have them swatted away immediately. "Oh, don't be so stiff, Alex. We're just joking."

Alex's shoulders slumped under the weight of Farkas' heavy arm when he slung it around her. "Yeah Al, relax. We only jest."

Alex crossed her arms, huffing to herself. "What do I do?"

Aela landed a hand on the Imperial's thigh. Her laughter calming enough now. "Confront her on the matter. Try to come to a mutual agreement that last night was a drunken mistake and that it's small enough to digress from. Unless of course you don't regret it. Then perhaps you two could schedule a repeat."

"_What?_" Alex squeaked.

"She's right. But tread carefully, this could come to a bad conclusion if approached incorrectly." Farkas added. Then he thought for a moment. "unless you really _don't _regret it."

Alex remained silent. Still trying to straighten her mind enough to calm down. Then Farkas and Aela both leaned in simultaneously. Alex looked up to expectant grins and was instantly confused. Mind so lost she'd missed the question in Farkas' statement. "What?"

"Well?" Farkas and Aela synchronized. "do you regret it or not?"

Alex sighed. Mind returning to the hazy events of the night before. Reliving the passion and desperation and insistence. The wonderful way Lydia tended to her, stroked her, felt her, tasted her. And the pleasure. Oh the pleasure.

"Hey!" Aela's snapping fingers brought the Imperial back to the present. An amusement settling in both her and Farkas' features. "can you not venture off in your head and answer the question? And stop thinking about your wild night with Lydia. We can smell your lust a mile off."

Alex turned sheepish. Her cheeks coloring s brilliant red and drew a pair of chuckles from either side of her. "Sorry. I don't know. Frankly, I don't see what could possibly go wrong from it. Except of course any chances of a strong companionship void of utter, bone shattering awkwardness." Alex thought a moment. "Lydia would probably not see the same. She reacted negatively enough when we awoke."

Farkas nodded, Aela spoke, "That should form complications. But your side is well, so imagine it as if half the problem is dealt with. Which it is."

"All that remains is straightening Lydia's side of this sweaty mess." Alex frowned at both Farkas' teasing and the longshot presented before her.

"It's Lydia we speak of; almost nothing with her ever goes swimmingly."

All three warriors slipped into silence. Aela and Farkas still comforting their flustered friend. Aela's hand rubbed a light line up and down Alex's thigh and Farkas pulled her closer by the arm around her. His massive and warm hand rubbing her arm. The Imperial's eyes slid shut. Suddenly feeling exhausted again more in her mind than in her body. Knowing Lydia, she wouldn't react lightly to their previous nightly engagement and things were bound to become difficult between the two... again. Alex sighed. She'd give her space first, time to collect herself before they spoke, Alex knew she needed it as well.

The silence that came with Alex's pondering was broken by Farkas, once again demonstrating his uncanny ability to come up with the most inappropriate questions:

"Was she any good?"

**This chapter was a lot shorter than the last, I know. But hey, at least it's here. Just a warning though, the chapters from here on will be a bit less light and a bit more intense, so brace yourselves. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC.**

**Warning: There's a vague lime in the beginning so if that makes you uneasy, just skip past the italics. It's not too graphic anyway, shouldn't upset people too much..**

_The warm satin beneath her palms ran for miles. Her perfume saturated everything. Her sweat, her quivering pants, her desire. They filled the room to the full as the Imperial manipulated her body. Keening whimpers emitted from her. Constantly gracing the seducing Imperial's ears with her every breathy plead for more. __The walls reverberated an approving sigh when a hot mouth closed upon tender skin. She felt the neck quiver beneath her teeth with the Nord's labored breaths; nearly sounding in sync to the pulse her mouth had latched upon._

_Desperate fingers clawed against thick, creamy flesh as the working mouth bit gently. A hot tongue tracing thin circles afterward._

_The Imperial lowered her hand to spreading thighs, massaging the tender, tensing flesh between eager fingers. She pushed the dull, insistent throbbing between her legs as far back as her mind would allow. Her focus remaining solely on the coming pleasure she'd soon make her whimpering partner experience. __She was pulled against desperate lips by impatient hands and lost herself to the demands the kiss screamed to her, demanded of her. Begging hips rocked against her to magnify her Nord partner's building loss of patience._

_Needing no further coaxing, the Imperial descended her partner's body. Worshipping every inch of skin encountered with open kisses. Each time a gentle tongue teased a sweat-coated stomach, an approving hum sounded from above. __With her palms gently massaging the generous thighs butterflied for her, she watched the anxious and beautiful face above arrange to that of begging desire. __A beastly hum started up in the Imperial's chest. Her senses sharpening and her fingers elongating. The familiar shifting of her bones registered to her as her vision began to shake with her incoming Change. A significant difference stood out to the Imperial though._

_There was no pain as her bones cracked and shaped, no squinting against the sharp explosions underneath her skin. But what most stood out to her was the absolute absence of hysterics that should have been present at her sudden Changing. Especially in such a position._

_Smoldering cloudy grey eyes connected with her amber brimming orbs as she lowered her quivering lips. And while eagerly burning hips rose to meet Alex's expert mouth, those disarming grey orbs retreated beneath ivory lids and an ever appreciative groan coated the heavy air that witnessed the start of Lydia's journey to bliss._

_And then the Beast took over._

XXXX

Alex awoke with a start. Her breath coming in gasps and her heart pounding to the rhythm of the burning throb in her core. She awoke to nearly the same scenery as that of her dream; to sweat soaked air, rough pounding in her chest that rang dull compared to that of her center. A light sheen of sweat coated her creamy skin and her sheets were in tangles between her legs. She looked off to the side and released a long sigh from between her labored pants.

She awoke to nearly the same scenery as that of her dream.

Her need was present. Her hunger was present. Everything was present. All but the warm, keening, lover that gently stroked her flesh and brought purpose to her awakened desires.

Alex let her head fall to her sweat moistened pillow. She expressed her chagrin with another empty sigh and brought a hand up to comb stray locks from her glistening face.

_'At least Aela's not awake this time'_, she thought to herself as she rose her free hand to join its twin; a slight effort to keep them far enough away from the waistband of her underthings which covered the angering fire beneath that practically yelled for her to quell it.

As if able to read her thoughts, Alex's fazeless roommate shifted beneath her furs, her face never peaking from the back of fiery locks even when her sleep weighed voice grumbled out, "Unless you plan on letting me assist, I suggest you nurse that desire of yours in the washroom. Your sighs of pleasure have quite the effect on me and I'd prefer not to get riled up before a task."

Alex allowed a lazy grin to melt across her lips. The bluntness of Aela's tongue always managing to cast an inkling of humor to any situation. Even to waking from a boiling, yet absolutely terrifying emission. "Apologies, Aela, it's never my intent to rile you."

A rough laugh rumbled from the other bed. "Don't apologize. I get far great amounts of sex now that your every dream has you blinded with lust." Alex heaved herself from bed. Walking over to her wardrobe and fishing out a fresh attire.

"I'm your only consort?" the Imperial teased and slung her clothes over her shoulder. "I must say that's quite a shame."

Alex laughed aloud when a long middle finger came up from her roommate, who still hadn't turned to face her. "You're my only consort in walking distance from my bed. I get rather lazy when my body gets the best of me."

"And what of Skjor?" Alex questioned. "he's right across the hall."

Aela didn't turn. She didn't have to, for the smile was clear in her voice. "He always came to me. And since you'd moved in, he lost his purpose as my nightly romp."

Alex's mouth fell out of feigned incredulity. "So I'm your replacement ass?" her voice was mock offense. "I'm offended."

Aela turned to her stomach, covering her head with her furs. "Mmm. You were good enough to rid your competition. I'd take that as a compliment."

Alex laughed, making for the door. "Oh, I'm on my knees with gratitude."

"You like it down there woman, and frankly I like _you_ down there. With that beastly tongue of yours." though the sleep in her voice still rang prominent, Aela still managed to feign a wistful edge.

Alex rolled her eyes, opening their room door to head for the washroom. "You're an almighty goddess of the sheets as well, Aela." her words dripped playful sarcasm.

The Imperial couldn't help but shake her head fondly when her close friend replied, "Damn right I am!" from their room.

The halls were empty. Void of companions wandering up and down the halls. Every resident warrior slumbered in their beds, leaving only silence in the corridors where their stories of valor usually filled. It left Alex with no potential audience when she settled in a filled tub. And the Imperial held only the minimum of her pleasure within her throat as she ridded herself of the demanding heat that only flared angrily since her wake. When her efforts were done and her body was bathed she climbed out and dressed herself. She unplugged the tub and walked out the washroom with a towel thrown around her shoulders and fingers tousling her soaked curtain of ebony. The mead hall was just as empty when she reached it. Her fellow companions either asleep at such early hours or already set off on their own tasks. Alex sat at a bench near the entrance of Jorrvaskr, biting into a sweetroll she'd taken from one of the tables. Alex hitched her feet up against the cool wood beneath her. Her eyes gleaming as she watched the firepit flicker beyond the rails of her position. With a subtle satisfaction settling where her desire once flared, Alex took another bite of her sweetroll.

It'd been weeks since her drunken encounter with Lydia. And the time she'd planned to give the both of them ran longer than she'd intended. It seemed the gods had other plans every time she'd attempt to confront the Nord. A task would come forth just as she ventured on her way or a companion would call her over to ask aid in archery. Whatever the disturbance, it always sprang seemingly from nowhere. Alex would wave them off as long as she could but every time she moved her gaze back to the spot Lydia had been, the Nord would always vanish. Every day since their encounter was spent trying to approach her and every night since then was filled with labored panting and desperate hips only to awake to physical salvation in the form of a lustful roommate.

A building anxiety begun to form with every passing day and failed attempt to confront Lydia. Alex found the air always thickening to the point of disturbance around the Nord and a questionable sensation always coursed through her in the rare occurrences when those piercing grey orbs connected with her for the most fleeting of seconds. She always found her lungs clear and her chest tight, and the suffocating air she breathed lighten with every pull. But only when those eyes were on her could she breath. For when they weren't, she was left to heave in the suddenly lead weighted air of a deafening anxiety that traced back to her Wolf. And though it scared her senseless how powerful that stare could be Alex found herself craving the feel more and more. Silently reveling in the electric flow struck through her skin and to her core with every pierce of those shining grey eyes.

The Imperial's brows furrowed as she chewed on another piece of sweetroll. Her hand fisting while she felt a shift against her mind, her Wolf struggling to be free. "What is going on with me?" she whispered for only her ears. The murmured words only reaching the wooden walls around her and dying upon contact.

Alex constantly found herself restless. On the verge of exploding from her skin and from her sense. The Wolf within her built a growing restlessness as well. Pacing impatiently within the confines of the Imperial's mind as the building itch to be released slowly grew greater and greater. Not even freedom quelled the beast's desires, though. A night long run along the plains surrounding Whiterun, a wild bandit binge, destroying any sign of wildlife in sight; it did nothing to lower the itching insistence of the beast's demands for appeasement. And all Alex could do was endure the constant thrashes against her binds every now and again. Opting to ignore the Wolf's anxiety rather than trying to appease her. Because no matter how hard she'd tried, the Imperial could not find even an inkling of a clue as to what the Wolf even wanted. And it left the woman with a growing annoyance in the back of her mind.

Alex didn't know what was happening, and she had nowhere to turn for not even her fellow Circle members could empathize with her curious situation. None had experienced the struggle she'd been fighting against her Blood and they had absolutely no advice to give. She'd gone to everyone. Asking and hoping for useful answers and was met with disappointment each time they'd give a hopeless shrug and sympathizing hug.

Then a shift occurred within her chest, a decision exposing itself. Alex nodded with finality and finished the remains of her late night snack, rising from her undisturbed seat.

She'd gone to everyone. Everyone but one. And she almost palmed her face with the blatancy of the choice she'd left untapped. The only person she knew had a great deal of years on even Skjor. Though the chances of solid answers were still slim, she had stressed every other choice enough to know that there would be no harm in trying.

At a more reasonable hour, she would go to Kodlak and seek his knowledge. And hopefully, with a little luck, even his guidance to her long unanswered questions.

**xx**

**For those of you that might be wondering, Alex and Aela are not a couple. Just friends with benefits. I didn't like this chapter much, length wise and content wise. I feel like it could have been better. And Lydia will not be making an appearance until another three chapters. Or two if I merge the last two together *shrugs* depends on the mood and feedback. Thank you to Anirandom for reviewing ^.^ really appreciate it! And thank all of you who decided to drop by and read. Got any feedback to give? Leave a review.. they feed my muse. Are my chapters too short? (I think so sometimes) is the story too slow? (I think so sometimes) does Lydia need to lighten up? (I think so sometimes) Haha. Ok... Bye.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Skyrim doesn't belong to me.**

"What troubles you, youngling?" Kodlak's deep, aged voice windowed years of wisdom and experience. Much like the way his silvery eyes reflected the past years of a man who'd seen so much more than Alex had yet to even imagine. He sat in his usual chair just outside of his sleeping quarters. And with a hand he gestured for the young wolf to claim a seat.

"I've come for guidance, harbinger. It's about the Beast Blood." Alex took the intended seat and tapped her fingertips anxiously about the table. Her mind in scatters while she tried to push the heavy weight of the Wolf's anxiety from her thoughts.

"I assumed as much." Kodlak nodded expectantly. "go on." he encouraged.

Alex took a deep breath. Not knowing where to begin. "I've been having... complications with my Wolf. In the sense that she's becoming hard to control. And she seems to _want _something but I can't even begin to fathom what it is. I've fed, I've given her plentiful time outside of my skin, I've done everything she could possibly want and yet she still seethes with an unrelenting intent." the Imperial raked a nervous hand against her hair. "it's not hunger that riles her. Otherwise she'd be quelled by now."

Kodlak adorned a thoughtful look. A hand coming up to stroke his long beard as a grey eyebrow rose in mental calculation. The gentle nodding of his head with Alex's every confused word gave the Imperial a hopeful warmth in her gut that he'd actually have answers. But she stilled it there for she was not up for the disappointment that would surely follow should Kodlak not have anything useful to offer.

"Farkas tells me you almost lost yourself to the call of the beast, no? In the presence of another. One who is not a member of the Circle?"

Alex nodded slightly. Not bothering to let loose a slight irritation at her companion for spilling her business. He quite possibly had saved her an amount of time having to explain it to Kodlak herself. "I did. In front of Lydia. She didn't see, though."

Kodlak nodded to himself. "This_ intent_, you've no knowledge what it could possibly be?"

"No. No idea at all. She's unappeasable,"

Kodlak hummed, stroking his beard. "Would you mind going into more detail?"

Alex nodded and took a deep, calming breath. Trying to bring herself back from the hope she'd let loose in case her questions would remain unanswered. "About what?"

"Everything." Kodlak answered. "feelings you've experienced. Sensations, moods, little things that seemed insignificant at the time. The Wolf's behavior around people, things. Anything that comes to mind." his utterly calm tone gave no implications of any progress to the Imperial. And she slowly started to wonder if the wise old man was only doing this to placate her.

Alex gave a heavy breath. Silently hoping her coming rant wouldn't go to waste as it had so many times with the others. "Ok." she started. "she's been restless lately. I can feel her thrashing in the back of my mind. Sometimes I can hear her growls in my head. And they always sound _frustrated_ for some reason. Like how I feel when I'm helping someone and they aren't understanding me.

"In the beginning She was merely a presence in my head. A force that only rested unless I called upon it. But now it feels like She's awake all the time and that every second She spends inside me makes her go madder and madder. But even when I let her loose it doesn't make any difference. If I clear entire bandit camps with her She's still as angry and irrate afterward as She was before and She still right now as I speak." Alex paused to breath. Her cerulean eyes pleading with the aged harbinger to have answers for her as her fingers became butterfly wings against the table. "even now I struggle to contain her and yet I know it's pointless to even try because whether She's free or not it won't liberate me from this burdening anxiety I'm constantly feeling. Please tell me you have answers, harbinger."

Kodlak took a deep breath. His face displaying the thought in his mind as he analyzed the information given to him. His hands rested upon the table between them and he leaned in closer. "It seems I might." the disbelieving laugh that escaped the relieved wolf's lips was cautioned by that of her elder. "_might_ being the operative word youngling. Do not let your hopes free just yet." Alex nodded, and settled back against her chair. Her dancing fingers sitting in her lap as she anxiously waited for Kodlak to continue. "before I answer though, I must inquire; what stopped you from Changing that night with Lydia."

The question caught her off guard and she blinked in curiosity as the man patiently waited for her answer. "Well... I'm not really sure." she thought back to that night. Remembering the near searing heat that traveled down her spine before her Wolf began to break of her confines. "I just remember it all... _stopping _when Lydia asked me something. I think she asked if I was growling." Alex's brows gathered when she remembered how absolutely pristine the Nord's voice was; absolutely crystal clear in comparison to the scrambled and muffled sounds that barely registered to the Changing wolf's ears.

"Walk me through the events, include the insignificant details as well."

The Imperial released a sigh. Her fingers coming up to dance across the table once again. "Ok well.." she included the curious detail of Lydia's voice, the sabre cat attack, the short time she'd spent blowing off steam away from the Nord when the Beast had broken free and returning to their camp to find Lydia settled in a bedroll.

Their time together consisted of more questions. Kodlak asking for Alex to retrace certain steps, going over every microscopic etch of detail. His silver eyes would squint whenever he'd felt he was on to something, but when it seemed he'd grace the Imperial with the answers she'd awaited for so long he'd merely ask another question and another scenario which she'd thoroughly describe for the old harbinger to analyze.

"You said you would answer my question, harbinger. With all due respect you've asked much more than answered."

Kodlak's armor shook with his gently shaking chest. A deep chuckle escaping him. "Of course. I must apologize." Alex merely pulled a polite smile. Her mind too flustered to bother creating any unnecessary words. "I will tell you that I _may_ know about certain things that are happening to you. But I must look into the matter further to be sure. Allow me the time to look into my sources and I will have an answer for you."

XXXX

A pull. The restlessness of her Wolf was a pull. Gravitational or no it didn't matter for Alex merely wanted to rid herself of it as soon as possible. The hours she'd spent in Kodlak's counsel brought her to answers, but not to the questions she'd hoped. Though she was content with the result for it was better than absolutely nothing. And the old harbinger had even said he'd look into the matter further. That lifted a great amount of stress from the Imperial's shoulders. It left her with just a _little _less to think about and something to investigate, finally something to do with herself and this situation; where exactly the pull was leading her.

Alex ignored the passing companions and their friendly greetings. Her concentration solely on the retreating form feet ahead of her. Alex only muffled the growl rumbling within her chest to the point that it only registered to herself. Her feet gave no sounds and her presence gave no acknowledgement for she was a predator now. Prowling in the shadows, weaving in the grass as her Wolf's anxiety led her through the hall. Her eyes locked on her target as she stalked silently behind. And as the tall form turned off to a smaller hall, the shorter Imperial followed suit, only stopping when she leaned against the corner to watch her target enter the whelps' quarters. Though they hadn't connected with her gaze, Alex still felt the air lighten when she was graced with piercing grey orbs nearly curtained behind ink black hair.

Alex wasn't surprised her Wolf had led her to the woman. She just didn't understand the reason behind it.

And as the doors closed behind the Nord, Alex released a silent sigh and crossed her arms to her chest in curious contemplation. Her eyes never leaving the wooden contents of the doubledoors to the whelps' beds that separated her from the source of this inexplainable lure and the subject of her every sweaty dream.

"Lydia, Lydia, Lydia. What in Mara's name would my Wolf want with you?"

**xx**

**Thank you to those who reviewed! And thank you to those who put my story on Alert, it warms my heart ^_^**

**The next chapter will have a lemon. Technically two. Just a warning.. and it takes up most of the chapter too so if it doesn't call to you then the chapter might not be for you. Sorry.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

**Reminder: Aela and Alex are friends with benefits.**

**Warning: Lemons! There are two, one shorter than the first.. and the first is a little trippy. And they come one right after the other, practically the whole chapter is a lemon, basically. So if you're not into that, you can read up until the italics. Everything else after that is citrus city. **

Keerava smiled humorously as she wiped down the bar. Her eyes observing the two warriors sat before her who traded playful jabs. Their hands were cupped around tankards of their fourth or fifth round of Talen-Jei's special Cliff Racers. The argonian cared not for the loud ruckus they gave for their drinking alone was giving her business, and in a town like Riften, gold was essential to keep from attracting the unwanted attention of certain factions of influence. Her other customers were too deep in their cups to care for the volume of the rowdy warriors anyhow. Too busy sloppily swaying along to the bard's fine tunes with mugs in hand to complain about the outlandishly obtrusive laughter emanating from the bar.

The red-haired warrior tilted her mug to the highest, slamming it down with a force that echoed a metallic CLANK. The war paint stricken across her lip nearly smudged when she wiped her sleeve against her mouth.

"Yo, Talen! Gimme another Cliff Racer my scaly friend," hollered the red-head. Her hand raised and pointing to her empty mug.

The woman beside her bursted into howling laughter. Her face twisted in amusing humor as she shoved her comrade. "You called him _Talen_! Like a hawk's _talon_." both women chorused fits of giggles. "his name is Talen-_Jei_, like _sigh_ but with a J… or _try_ or _bye_ or _high_ or-"

"Shut up!" Aela ordered sloppily. Alex's black brows burrowed childishly at the terse command and she pouted distastedly.

"_You_ shut up.." Alex muttered petulantly.

The green lizard failed to contain his irritated huff. Walking over with a lachance in hand only when Keerava gave the okay nod to do so. With a release of another empty sigh, the lizard painted on a friendly face and stopped beside the beautiful baboons.

"Another round ladies?"

"Of course my good man, we didn't call you here for nothing," slurred Aela as she shoved Alex from her shoulder. The lizard's façade nearly broke when the warrior's alcohol tainted breath fanned across his tiny nostrils. He risked a glance toward his boss and received only a pointed look in return. He poured Aela's cup to the brim in hopes that she wouldn't come calling again. Or that she'd at least pass out from the alcohol. It was a strong drink, and yet both women still sat giggling like a pair of skooma filled fools on their payday.

"Aela, Aela,"

"What?"

Alex braced herself on her companion's armored shoulder. "I'm sleepy, let's go sleep. Like in a bed. I miss beds, they're so soft and warm. Not like bedrolls;" the warrior's face scrunched in petulant distaste. "hard and stiff... sucks. No way to sleep."

Aela shrugged and stumbled to her feet, reaching out to grab Alex's hand toward the stairs. "Very well, let's go sleep then, friend." when asked by the green lizard about her freshly filled drink, Aela merely waved a hand over her shoulder as the two tripped up the stairs.

As the warriors giggled on their merry way, Talen-Jei glanced shortly at his boss who had already set to wipe clean the fresh droplets Aela had spilled from her efforts to get off her stool.

Keerava merely shrugged and leaned up to pat the tired man on his shoulder. "They're entertaining, if not fine wells of profit."

The room door slammed against the wall behind it. Swinging back full speed to close completely when the women stumbled through. Their boots pounding heavily on the worn wood while they scrambled sloppily for one of the two beds within, their fingers threaded together. The women forked from each other, joining only loosely by the hands and nearly fell from the force they'd exerted. They snorted loudly when they realized they'd just went for two separate beds and Aela tugged Alex by the hand toward hers.

The war painted warrior pulled Alex above her as she fell back against the furs. Alex's breaking titter was cut short by a distasted groan. "You're armor hurts."

"Oh don't be such a child."

Alex snorted as her hands went to undo the latches enclosing her companion's attire. Aela kicked off her boots while the Imperial made quick work of her clothes. "I'll show you a child," she slurred as Aela went to unzipped the catch on Alex's sleeveless leathers. "hey now," Alex cautioned sloppily. "none of that," and she playfully swatted her companion's hands away.

Aela pouted, looking like a kicked puppy. It nearly had Alex laughing again. "Why do you get to take my clothes off?"

"Because your clothes are _hard_ and they hurt. I like to sleep comfortably, thanks."

"And what of me?" Aela asked incredulous. "that leather is rough against my skin too! I could get a rash... or an infection!"

Alex leveled a lidded deadpan down to her friend. "My clothes aren't a loose woman. And we can't get diseases."

Aela rolled her eyes, practically ripping off her companion's leather and tossing them aside. Reveling in the vibrating warmth that accompanied skin-on-skin contact. "Just shut up, already." Aela playfully demanded.

"Gladly." Alex replied and then loose lips latched to her own. Aela's hands came up to tangle in Alex's wild mane of black.

XXXX

_Lydia's fingers tugged harshly at the Imperial's hair. A resounding whine of pleasure exploding from her throat as her nectar spilled out to coat her partner's waiting tongue. Her hips didn't cease their insistent rocking and long pale legs remained wrapped around Alex's neck. __Lydia shuddered in ecstasy when her lover didn't still her tongue. Working to prolong her orgasm as she lapped at the worn Nord's heat. Her breasts heaved as she labored to catch her breath. Eyes refusing to open, weighed down by the afterglow of Lydia's bliss. __Alex found she could do this for ages. Lay there and devour Lydia's core for as long as eternity. So long as it brought the woman pleasure. She'd remain in that warm, sweaty room for however long her lover would need and even stay afterward to help dress her. The Imperial's own eyes slid shut as she relished the ambrosia that her partner was giving up to her, that she'd coaxed from within her with her very tongue._

_And just as the last of her moisture coated Alex's tongue an all too familiar shift began within her skin. Her bones cracked and her body twisted. Her fingers twitched and shook, lengthening to claws that soon after drowned in ebony fur. Alex shuddered over her lover's spent body when her back began to break and her eyes began to itch. Yet her body didn't ache like it was supposed to once again._

_Alex watched while Lydia's serene face witnessed the Imperial's changing body. Although the hysterics were once again absent, the Imperial couldn't help but worry for Lydia's safety._

_"Run!" she warned, a growl taking over her voice as the sheets tore with Alex's clenching claws._

_The Nord merely smiled. Cupping a quivering cheek in her palm with an accepting expression to her beautiful features. "Shh, my sweet Wolf. Don't stress yourself."_

_The bed creaked with Alex's building weight, her arms yanked and twitched with every breaking and reshaping of her bones. "I might kill you," her voice was not her own, though not solely that of the Wolf either._

_Lydia's head gently shook. Her soft lips still shaped in thoughtless tranquility. "No you won't. She just wants to take me. She wants to make me hers, like you've already made me yours." and when the Nord leaned up to press her lips to Alex's, the Imperial let out a piercing yell that drowned harshly in a guttural roar. But those soft lips never left her, and the warm hands pressed against her twitching back lengthened and widened. Then sharp stings were dug against Alex's flesh to the point of drawing blood when the Nord pulled her closer._

XOXO

Alex awoke in a cold sweat. Her heart pounded in her chest and her breaths came in frightened pants as she jolted from the bed only to be halted by a strong hand to her chest.

"Shh. Relax, Alex." Aela murmured softly. The warrior's alcohol coated breath fanned against her friend's moist shoulder. Alex pulled a deep breath to her lungs and laid back against the furs while Aela's hand traveled down her sweating skin. "you fell asleep on me." her tone wasn't soured. Merely stating truth as she shifted to hover over the wakened Imperial.

The movement wafted Aela's apparent lust to the Imperial's nostrils. A lust she soon felt pressed against her stomach as the warrior planted a hungry kiss to her companion's neck. "Do you know you moan in your sleep?" the huntress breathed. Her silvery eyes locking with Alex's. She licked a light trail to her collarbone. "you always sound so delicious when you dream of her."

Alex didn't bother to speak. Her eyes having slid shut at the sensation of Aela's hot mouth closing over her collarbone. Her hands came up to grab at the huntress' sleek back. "Mmm," she groaned and Aela's burning hips rolled against her toned stomach in a desperate need for friction. Alex ignored the slight stirring of the Beast within her.

The huntress' breath quivered over Alex's flesh when her hands palmed the Imperial's generous breasts, her nipples already pebbled from the events of her dream. Aela brought her mouth down to the valley between her companion's round globes. Licking shortly before sucking the tender skin between her teeth and earning another appreciative whine from above.

Alex hissed, and arched her back when Aela's teeth gently found a pale brown nipple, her warm tongue tracing idle circles over the bud. "Fuck," the huntress shuddered and sent a throated moan to vibrate around the Imperial's nipple in a most pleasant way.

Aela closed her lips around the bud and pulled slightly, earning a tighter grip against her back, before releasing it with a light smack. "You have me absolutely gushing when you curse." the huntress whispered hotly. The insistent rhythm of her hips showing Alex by touch just how much she affected the red-head. Aela graced the Imperial's other nipple with the same treatment as its twin. Massaging the free breast with her hand while her mouth closed upon the other.

Alex's breathing went all the more ragged when her companion's ministrations continued. Her eyes never left the confines of her lids as she reveled in the attentions the huntress gave her. A hungry whimper left Alex's lips and was swallowed by her companion's mouth when a hand grabbed her own and held it against Aela's burning lust.

Aela's groan vibrated the Imperial's mouth and she slowly moved her hand against the huntress' rolling hips. Alex's tongue pushed against Aela's lips. Gaining entry within seconds and hungrily exploring her companion's mouth with the familiarity of a resident. Aela pulled away from her friend's demanding kiss when a deft finger delved inside of her. The warrior's forehead descended to connect with Alex's shoulder and a ground out, "_fuck_," was breathed against alert flesh. Aela had the same effect on Alex when she cursed.

The Imperial's hips began a gentle undulation, her own lust flaring to an unignorable flame. Her free hand lowered to Aela's tight butt and nudged the warrior to her burning nethers, only to be stopped by a darkly smirking Nord. The gruff and questioning look given by the Imperial brightened Aela's gleaming grin. "I've been lusting for quite a while since you fell asleep. You're going to have to wait your turn." she purred before giving a great fluid buck of her hips against Alex's strong fingers, Aela's silvery eyes lost focus for a second from the pleasure that sprang forth at the action and a shaking sigh escaped the huntress' lips.

Alex gave a distasted growl. Lazily baring her teeth at the warrior that perched upon her fingers. She relented however, and gave a great thrust of her digits into her companion's dripping core. Aela's groan of appreciation spurred the lusty wolf and encouraged an added amount of effort on her part. As Aela established a rhythm with her hands braced upon the Imperial's shoulders, Alex stroked her inner walls with the knowledge of an expert. Finding her companion's sweet spot in minutes and manipulating it with practiced precision to the delicious pants of the warrior above her.

Red fiery locks fell forward from Aela's shoulders as her rhythm gained in speed and her whines became more constant. Alex pulled the warrior down to close her restless lips around a hardened nipple. Biting just before the point of pain and soothing it with an experienced tongue. A groan escaped Alex's sucking lips as she felt her companion clench around her fingers. The sensation making her own loins clench in need; a cry for _something_ to come and fill her utterly empty heat.

When Alex finished giving the same treatment to Aela's other nipple, she opted to watch her lusty lover ride her hand in shameless abandon. Her eyes focusing on her slick fingers as they continuously disappeared within the warrior's hungered core. A building want to throw her off and taste the tart nectar Aela was giving had the Imperial panting. The sounds of their joining flooded the room along with their moans and sloppy growls of want and desire. And the way Aela's ample breasts bounced with her every thrust only stoked the flaring fire within Alex's dripping center. The need to taste Aela's tempting folds also grew.

Soon enough the bed began to creak against the strength of Aela's thrusting. Her fingers bit into Alex's shoulders and her ragged pants turned hollow. Sensing her coming release, Alex thumbed the warrior's clit and earned a wild shudder in return. "Ngghh, fuck!" Aela ground as her pace quickened impossibly and her swift thrusting turned to sloppy bucks.

Alex's free hand grasped her companion's butt and helped heighten the warrior's speed. Shoving the woman harshly against her fingers by her bottom as her digits dug desperately into the soft flesh of Aela's rear.

Alex gritted her teeth when Aela's grip on her shoulders became painful. "I'm nearly there." she whimpered. And then she caught Alex's fingers in an iron grip.

Her inner muscles contracted wildly and Alex released her companion's bottom to pinch Aela's clit. The pleasuring fingers inside the huntress switched to a scissoring motion against her sweet spot and sent the Nord into the throes of orgasm.

Her shudders were violent, her thrusting sloppy, and the beastly growl that exploded from her throat held nothing but guttural satisfaction as Aela's world exploded in pleasure and colors. Her nectar squirted out to flood the Imperial's working fingers.

Alex circled her companion's clit and continued a lazy stroking pace as Aela came down from her high. Spent panting escaped the red-head's mouth in whines and she collapsed against her friend's sweat sheened torso.

Alex struggled against the unrelenting desire stirring in her core while her companion reeled from post-orgasmic bliss. The Imperial retracted her fingers from Aela's satiated core and earned a whimper in the process. Aela lazily watched with lust still rimming her shining eyes when Alex took the soaked fingers into her mouth. The huntress shivered and a hungry growl escaped her throat.

"Lady Mara that is so sexy." she murmured. Voice showing evidence of the energy she'd lost from the mind numbing orgasm. But the hunger in her eyes still shone most prominent and it even turned slightly expectant.

Alex gave a sly smirk to her lusty lover and extracted her fingers from her mouth to walk them up a single breast. "Uh-Uh. It's _my_ turn now. And _you_ have to wait."

**xx**

**Lemons aren't my forte, but I like the challenge. One more chapter after this one and Lydia makes a return. And she'll appear a lot more frequently from then on. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

Alex groaned sleepily against the strong hands shaking her. The delicious warm darkness of sleep becoming jostled by the harsh movement. An all too familiar laugh reached her ears and sent her brows gathering in irate displeasure. Halfheartedly, Alex reached for the furs slipping from her legs and attempted pulling them over her head, only to have them snatched away to the currently irritating melody of Aela's teasing laughter.

"Oh no you don't sweet cheeks," the huntress teased, tossing the fur over her shoulder. "Keerava's chewing my tail off with her complaints of our overstaying. We've only a few moments before we have to pay another ten septims to keep the room and you've still yet to bathe."

The sleep-ridden Imperial gave a mere grunt and rolled over in petulance, giving her companion her back and unknowingly earning a brow raise. "Go away." she grumbled childishly.

Aela shook her fiery head. Leaning a hand over the bed to smack her companion's firm ass. Alex jumped surprised but aside from rubbing the spot on her ass, gave no other movements. "I am not about to pay another ten septims so you can lay on your lazy ass all morning." Aela said, her voice colored in amusement. "I could care less how appealing the view is, you my dear, have to get up."

The Imperial merely shifted on the bed, gathering whatever sheets were left and covered her ebony matted head. Burying her face in the pillows that smelled of the both of them.

Aela straightened, landing her hands on her hips as she continued to stare down at the bare Imperial covered in fur only at the head. The sight made her want to snort.

Or join her.

"I will force you if I must."

Aela received nothing. Only the gentle movement of the Imperial's shoulders with her steadying breaths.

"Alex."

Undisturbed breathing.

"Hey."

A shift of the leg.

"Don't think I won't." she warned, though she might as well have said she was a man for she got no other reactions.

Aela gave a huff, a single hand raising to cup her chin and her silvery eyes roamed in thought. Then she blinked and a grin played at her lips. Mischief colored the woman's features and a glint reflected in her metallic orbs while her hand fell back to her hip. "Well," she said. Her voice feathering the air, threatening to become a purr. "never thought I'd see the day I finally wore you off. I knew you were no match for my skills. Skjor would have at least been conscious enough to bring me to climax last night."

With the taunt came a shifting. A slow and lazy movement of limbs that brought Aela's grin widening in coming celebration of her approaching triumph. Though in the back of her mind she knew her words false for the Imperial always managed to bring the woman to Sovngarde and back. But voicing something of that nature would not get her to wake. Which she still hadn't done, for Alex merely repositioned herself and sank into even deeper a sleep. Giving Aela pretty much no relative response to her teasing words.

Wait...

No... nothing.

Aela rolled her eyes, giving a huff from her lungs and dropping her arms in exasperation.

_'I suppose I should've expected as much.'_ she thought to herself as she stepped up onto the mattress. The weight of her armor made the bed whine under her weight.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Aela warned in a mock singsong voice before stepping over her sleeping companion and wiggling her fingers beneath the woman's flesh. Before Alex could react, Aela heaved as great as she could and sent the Imperial rolling, rather unceremoniously, onto the worn wood floor of their disheveled room. A surprised squeak joined the sounds of flesh meeting floor and a hardy guffaw bounced around the room from the bed as Alex scrambled. The Imperial's flailing limbs eventually found purchase upon the wood when her sights focused enough to register the ground. Aela's shameless howling didn't cease, even when her naked companion managed a threatening growl from deep within her chest. Well... it was meant to be threatening, though to Aela, it sounded like no more than an animalistic interpretation of a child's whine of protest.

"What the fuck?" Alex demanded, her tangled mane spilling sloppily over her shoulders while she propped herself up on her hands.

Aela jumped from the mattress, landing in a loud and heavy thump at the Imperial's head. Aftershocks of her amusement came in shaking waves when she spoke. "Hey, I warned you." she ruffled her fingers in the woman's hair, earning a slap and another growl before laughing, more quietly, once more. "now get your sleepy ass to the bath. I already drew you one to save time. From the drinks we consumed last night and some damages we have to pay, we can't afford to give up more coin."

"I could have gotten a splinter!" Alex complained, completely ignoring Aela as she lifted one side of her butt and ran a hand over the cheek to check for splints.

The huntress rolled her eyes and hook her head at the Imperial's antics. "You already know our skin is thicker than that." she offered a hand. "now shut up and get clean, we need to go."

After a few seconds of intense stare-down with Aela's hand, Alex gave an indignant huff and took the offering, heaving herself from the cold floor. After thinking of the possible others who'd rented the room, a bath sounded a lot more attractive having had her naked flesh on there. "Fine." she grumbled, rubbing her eyes with a hand as she stumbled for the bathroom. Aela tossed a towel at her, before fishing out the intended gold they surely would be ambushed for as soon as they hit the foot of the stairs. "we didn't even break anything downstairs," Alex added absently after tugging the towel from where it landed over her head and throwing it across her shoulders. She disappeared under the doorframe to the bathroom.

Aela chuckled, rummaging through her knapsack. A smile found her lips when her fingers came across the coarse material of her coinpurse.

"I didn't say it was downstairs," she called to the Imperial. Aela's silvery eyes briefly flitted to the bed. Wondering how Alex hadn't noticed the odd angle at which it slanted due to having only three working limbs. Chunks of the headboard had been broken off and peppered the mattress and some of the ground. It was a good thing Beast Blood came with thicker skin, Alex would surely have gotten a splinter. If not from sleeping in such a mess, then definitely falling onto the remains of their bed's limb. After giving a brief once over at the aftermath of their late night joining, Aela couldn't help but raise her brows in slight smugness. "damn I'm good."

Aela went to the bar to inform Keerava of their leaving and to pay for the drinks and damages. The argonian's eye twitched at the thought of damages, but quickly recovered when presented with Aela's plump coinpurse. She merely insisted they return soon before Aela returned to the room. Alex took a few moments to wash, emerging from the bathroom with a towel tousling her soaked mane. It stilled when the Imperial's blue eyes registered the condition of their rented bed.

"Damn." She muttered while Aela sat herself on the nightstand. An expectant grin already hovered over the huntress' lips as Alex took in the scene. The grin dimmed slightly, though, when the Imperial's face lit with smug pride. "I'm good!" she declared proudly after taking in the damages. A bright smile took over her glistening features while her hand returned to drying her hair.

Aela's face twisted in question. "_You're_ good? That was all _my_ doing." she said, tossing Alex her leather top.

The Imperial gave an agreeing nod. "I know! I am fucking good!" she bragged as she slid on the article, closing the catch until only a hint of her cleavage showed.

Aela shook her head. "No, _I_ made _you _do _that_," she clarified, gesturing to the broken bed and its demolished headboard.

It was Alex's turn to twist her face, and she shook her head. "No no, _you_ broke it. I remember that."

Aela's head drooped incredulously. "You didn't even know it was broken until you walked in!" she argued.

Alex merely smiled and retrieved her pants after slipping on clean underwear. "Exactly! If I broke it, I would have remembered,"

"You didn't remember because I had you so lost in pleasure."

Alex snorted. "Yeah, the pleasure of _'I'm damn good'._ Because you were so pleased you thought I was you when you broke the bed."

Aela stared at her part-time lover, a hint of amused disbelief shaping her freshly war painted features. A few silent beats passed before Aela snorted. "That didn't even make any sense,"

Alex blinked, jumping into her tight leathers and zipping the catch. The Imperial thought a moment, then made a face. "I suppose it didn't."

Aela chuckled her agreement and nodded at the unfazed Imperial who'd shrugged and tossed her towel to the broken bed. "Ehh. I still say it was because of my skills."

Aela scoffed and slid off the end table when the Imperial went to strap her dagger to a leg and retrieved her bow and quiver. "Yeah, your skills of destruction." she muttered behind Alex as she left the room with her knapsack in hand.

Horses were a significant part of traveling around Skyrim. Essential for time management and merely to keep as little time between each destination. However, members of the Circle preferred not to use them. They sensed the predators within, and usually gave hassle when being mounted. Plus, a lot of the time they traveled in their Wolves over long distances back to Whiterun. But the supplies the women brought on their task, the treasure they accumulated, and the absence of a non-Circle companion along to bring home their stuff, they were left to travel a more traditional way.

And that was how Alex found herself face to face with the nervous mare of Riften's carriage service while Aela convinced the man to give them a ride to Whiterun for only sixteen septims and a stale sweetroll. Aela's brash approached hadn't panned out. In turn, Alex joined the effort, and added a bit of tact.

"Gods, men are so easy to manipulate." Alex noted lowly as the two climbed in the back of the carriage. She tossed her knapsack further in and spread her arms across the lip of the side of the wagon while Aela sat across from her.

Aela snorted, leaning back as well while the carriage began to set off. "Absolutely," she agreed, then she donned a thoughtful look. "although I think we should have kept the sweetroll. I'm starved, and once he saw you brush your fingers up my stomach he looked about ready to give up the whole damn carriage."

Alex grinned, shrugging. "Nice touch with the fake moan, by the way." she complimented.

Aela laughed. "It wasn't difficult. Having you as a bed partner gives vast room to practice faking it."

The Imperial's mouth dropped in offense, a little squeak even escaped her, and it sent Aela's fiery head falling back to release a rich howl of laughter that startled the driver for a moment. "Well that's just... _mean_!" Alex squeaked in sincere, childish, hurt.

The huntress took a moment to calm her laughter. Her hand bracing her stomach. "I shove you naked off a bed in your sleep and you think a little joke is mean?"

Alex merely crossed her arms. A small frown taking her features. "The fall didn't hurt. And that joke wasn't even funny." the Imperial complained, her voice threatening to cross the threshold to absolutely childish.

Aela shook her head in disbelief. "Sweet Talos," she muttered with an amused grin. "you know you're amazing in bed." the mare in front gave a shocked whine when the man tugged the reigns too harshly. Both women regarded him for a moment.

"Sorry." he mumbled before sitting up straighter.

Aela returned her gaze to Alex, who did the same a moment later with a hint of mirth and mischief. "I know I am. I just like to hear it." the childish tone Alex had taken was completely void now, replaced with unrestrained cheekiness. Sneaky woman.

Aela didn't miss a beat however, and lifted her legs up to cross them in the Imperial's lap. "Hey Alex," she called playfully. Her smile marking the huntress' own mischief. And when the Imperial hummed at her, the woman held in a laugh when she said: "I faked that too." she referred to her previous praise.

The muffled snickering of the driver in front caught Alex's attention after her face twisted in playful offense. Aela broke into slight snickers at the man's eavesdropping.

Alex released a respectful breath and grinned. "Smart tongue, Nord. Smart tongue." she complimented.

"You pronounced _brilliant_ wrong," Aela replied then chortled after a moment. "wow I am on a roll this morning." her companion rolled her eyes and touched a playful kick to her upper leg.

"_'Snob'_ isn't a good color on you." Alex teased.

"Oh, apologies, did you want me to give it back?" Aela returned playfully, then broke out into more pride. "really, I could probably do this all day."

Alex shook her head with calming chuckles, silently basking in the cool air that passed them as the carriage continued to bring them to Whiterun. "I hope you don't. I have the feeling it would grow old rather quickly."

"Like your face!" Aela asked brightly. A few beats passed and her companions's features twisted into one of blank confusion. Aela's features slowly fell into thought as well. The two of them shook and shifted with the rough road while they both thought silently. And finally, Aela spoke. "yep, I lost it."

"That you did." Alex snickered.

Time passed much like it always did between the close friends; loud laughter and topic shifts that switched faster than the women could breath. And, even on a moving carriage, they managed to find a way to compete over who had the better archery skills. Though both knew Aela had the superior aptitude, they still enjoyed the fun that came with competition.

"Dammit." Alex muttered, tapping the lip of the carriage with her free palm and lowering her bow. She watched the retreating elk disappear down the hill a ways away from their moving position.

"Ha! Another miss," Aela declared, combing a hand through her fierce hair when the wind swept it about. "you should really give up now. I always win."

The Imperial huffed and sat back in her seat. There would be no more game for a while, "No, you always cheat."

"How could I possibly cheat on a moving carriage?" Aela asked humorously.

Alex made to reply, but fell short of words. Her companion grew a smug look and leaned back expectantly for the Imperial's answer. After a moment, she spoke. "Well... you cheated the last time."

"Ha!" Aela bursted. "are you still on about that mammoth? He wasn't even too much of a bother, you exaggerate too much, friend."

The Imperial leveled a deadpanned stare upon her comrade. "He didn't bother you because he thought I was the one that shot him in the ass,"

Aela's eyes went distant, a smile shaping her mouth as she recalled the moment. "That was such a true shot." she bragged in a playfully wistful voice.

The indignant Imperial failed to fight off her grin. She shook her head at the ridiculous look Aela displayed across from her. Alex was about to say something, but was cut short by the sudden jerk the carriage gave. Their driver released a wary sound and backed himself as far back in his seat as he could.

"Uh... ladies?" he uttered, looking nervously back at his warrior passengers.

Aela's nose flared, and a brow slowly rose along with one side of her war painted mouth. Her metallic eyes flashed with a certain gleam that Alex often witnessed when they were hunting. Alex smirked as well, her eyes flashing in an identical fashion as her companion.

Alex inhaled. "Five."

Her companion shook her head. "Seven."

Like lightening across the sky, Alex stood with two arrows between her fingers. Her bow whistled with the release and two of the seven approaching bandits fell dead, to the flustered surprise of their comrades. "Not anymore."

Aela retrieved her dagger and jumped over the side of their carriage, charging for the remaining men as Alex climbed over the edge to stand beside the shaking driver. A fresh arrow nocked to fire.

The bandits' blades screamed against their sheaths when they were introduced to the fight. Aela raised her dagger against a coming sword, a familiar sharp vibration ran down her arms at the rough contact and she twisted their blades off to the side, staggering the large bandit. She flipped the blade in her hands and ran a slash for the man's throat. He managed a dodge, her steel cutting his cheek instead before he wielded his sword once again. Their blades roared over and over with their every violent meeting. An occasional grunt escaping the two whenever a blow made it through.

A pained grunt exploded from behind the huntress, her head twitched to look at the commotion before her instincts told her better, keeping her focus to the battle engaging her. Alex nocked another arrow, her focus panning away from the newly downed bandit at Aela's heels. She ignored the near obtrusive sounds the driver made beside her and searched for another. The Imperial sank a shot in a bandits kneecap, readying another arrow while the man fell to his good knee with a breaking shriek. He held his other with shaking hands. The sound of Aela's victory over her bandit reached Alex's ears before the driver's warning voice yelled:

"Watch out!"

But before Alex could react, a sharp sting passed through her arm and her steady stance crumbled with her groan. She cupped her bicep just below the protruding arrow lodged within only to be forced from the carriage by a steel boot.

"Ooh!" Aela uttered between traded strikes with a new bandit. The Imperial lifted her face from the dirt road, shaking her concentration back. Though slightly unfocused from the force of the bandit's powerful kick, Alex's senses picked up his fast approach. She rolled over in time to watch a rusted blade bury into the dirt her head had once been. She kicked at the bandit's knee, drawing her dagger and sheathing it to the hilt in his flesh. His roar of agony reverberated off the trees around them. Alex twisted the dagger, earning renewed cries as she hoisted herself from the dirt road.

The large man swung his sword, nearly dealing a cut to the Imperial's gut had she held on to her blade. They twisted to the demanding rhythm of combat, their grunts and groans of flourish and pain serving melodies as the Imperial danced away from the bandit's every swing. Shallow cuts split across her exposed arms whenever the bandit's strikes managed passed her practiced counters. During a slow back swing she gripped her lodged dagger and twisted once again, staggering the large man in favor of a deep stab to the chest.

He gurgled, his blood coating the steel metal of Alex's blade while his body slowly slumped with every dying spurt from his penetrated heart. Alex pulled harshly, allowing the blood to flow freely, hastening the bandit's inevitable demise.

"Anggh!" the Imperial's head snapped toward her companion's grunt.

Aela's strong legs kicked at the air. Her hands clawing at the hilt that bit into her throat where another bandit had her hefted off the ground. Alex began to rush to aid her friend, already calculating how to dispatch the large man who had Aela lifted from behind when a familiar sound hit her ears. The tensing of a bow string. A following whistle registered to her ears and before she'd even thought to move, her body was already in motion. She'd turned heel, striking her blade at the air and feeling brief resistance before the top half of an iron arrow tumbled against her foot. The back end rolling not far behind.

"What the?" she muttered to herself.

Aela grunted in annoyance when her bandit yanked at his sword, causing the handle to chafe against her flesh. She shoved an elbow to his gut, only to hit his thick armor. Silver eyes rolled in agitation, at the dull throbbing that started up in her elbow, before she raised her kicking legs up by the knees and shot them behind her. Aela was rewarded with an anguished cry before being dropped to the ground. She gasped for the air she'd found herself missing quite quickly and grasped the dagger she'd dropped in their scuffle. Before the bandit could recover she ran a cut across the artery in his neck and shoved him back before his blood could soak too much of her armor. His cry was silenced by the liquid rumbling in his throat.

Aela's victory was short-lived for the sharp whistle of another sword registered to her ears. She fell to the ground and sent a leg careening across the floor just as the oncoming blade swiped at her previous position. Her leg caught the back of the bandit's feet and sent him toppling to his butt, dropping his sword in the process. Aela wasted no time going for the kill and raised her blade as she straddled him. A well placed punch though, had her staggering from him.

"Motherf-!" Even the hand pressed to her nose didn't stifle Aela's howl too greatly. The huntress' pain-stricken metallic eyes flashed dangerously while they watched the scraggly clothed man rise from the ground. He hadn't caught the silent threat for he was busied with retrieving his fallen blade and lifting it over his head in a final strike.

Aela didn't bother refraining the low rumble roiling in her chest, her lip rising to a snarl at one side as she grabbed the dagger she once again had dropped and jumped at the man for their final scuffle. The wakened Beast Blood within her working to her advantage and making steady work of the man's coming defeat.

He eventually fell and left Aela to wipe her blade upon his rags. Her eyes soon scanned the expanse of trees surrounding the road for her companion, finding her standing over a fresh corpse with a long bow clutched between the woman's fingers. Alex stepped over the downed woman, returning her dagger to her hip with her eyes staring humorously at her comrade. Or more specifically, her healing, dripping, nose.

"Received some damage there, did you?" she teased, combing locks of her windswept mane from her face.

Aela smirked back, shaking her own hair from her eyes while they focused on a spot on the other woman's arm. She gestured to it with her chin and said, "You seem to have as well," she countered amusedly. Alex looked to the indicated spot and sighed with a hint of deflation.

"Oh joy..." Alex muttered when she came to stare at the lodged arrow in her arm. Aela gave a chortle, patting her companion on the shoulder before checking on their driver.

"You might want to take care of that before he manages to rip his hands from his eyes," Aela suggested too low for the man to hear.

Alex nodded, and lifted her injured arm. Luckily the arrow managed to get all the way in, had the arrowhead not been sticking out the other side she'd have had much more struggle trying to dislodge it. Alex clenched her jaw through the sharp sensations shooting through her arm when she snapped the tip off. A throated grunt escaping when she snatched the body out. It was damn good she didn't splinter easily anymore. She applied pressure to the wound with a hand and walked over to the carriage while Aela snapped their driver from his state of panic. They figured he'd be used to such encounters, being a carriage driver and all.

"Should we gather any valuables from them?" Aela asked when she came over to stand at the back of the carriage. Her elbows propping onto the rim while she looked up at Alex who'd climbed in.

"Can we find a lake first?" she asked, taking in the absolute mess that they both were and earned a smile of agreement.

**xx**

**Long chapter, I know. I was surprised too. I hope the actions sequences weren't too confusing. Oh and Lydia returns next chapter! Woo! We finally get to see her outside of Alex's dirty dirty dreams XD How many of you missed her? I know I did,**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine. **

Alex released a breath and it marked her finality. She faced the decorated wooden door of Breezehome and nodded to herself before shoving it open with a confidence. There was a certain itch at the back of her mind that told her barging into the Dragonborn's home unannounced wasn't a smart choice, but she'd pushed the thought behind her the minute she pushed the front door open. He wasn't in town anyway, she'd have heard about it. And she would have sensed him. And this was the only sure fire way she'd keep Lydia's attention long enough to speak her piece. Not many excuses to run way with when you're inside an empty house.

The house was a lot more ordinary than she pictured it would be. The large fire pit in the center of the living room still danced with lively flames just below a cooking spit. Everything was intact; the small table to her left contained simple utensils and plates of bread and meat. The bookshelves were filled with spell tomes, some were simply for easy reading. There was nothing too extravagant about the place. Sure the weapons displayed on the racks and plaques hinted of a warrior's residence here but she figured it would be less... homely. The entire walk to the Dragonborn's home she pictured shelves of various quivers containing differing types of arrows from dwarven to elven to daedric to glass. And wall sized racks of swords and axes and all kinds of things that a warrior would need to take down a dragon. Alex pictured giant's toes and mammoth tusks and deer antlers and falmer ears all around serving as trophies to the Dragonborn's adventures. But she only found food, cheese, clothes and other seemingly normal material.

How boring.

She didn't need to analyze the air to know of Lydia's presence. Alex had seen her walk in moments before she reached the front door. And she could hear the housecarl's heavy steps roaming the second floor. Upon her entrance the heavy boots made for the stairs and soon enough they began to descend them. Alex watched while Lydia's face slowly came into view.

"Good to see you again my Th-" the Nord's words died on her lips when she took in Alex's expectant form standing at her Thane's door. The Imperial's arms were crossed tightly to her chest and azure eyes latched upon her with a heavily decided air to it. Something about the stare stroked a questionable warmth in the housecarl's gut and she found herself suppressing a shiver.

"We need to talk." Alex stated. A steely authority coated her voice that sounded oddly tempting in the way it echoed around the empty house and reached the housecarl's listening ears.

Lydia tensed. The room felt suddenly smaller and the small staircase she stood upon never felt more narrow than that moment. The gentle firepit below felt angry and sweltering. And her armor... was it always this heavy and hot when she wore it? "Now is not a good time."

"Bullshit!" the Imperial called and the attention the word demanded spurred a flare within Lydia's gut. "you can't avoid me forever."

Despite the disarming effects Lydia was experiencing, she managed a dark scowl toward the Imperial who'd intruded on her Thane's property. "You are trespassing, Alex. And I am liable to rid Breezehome of intruders however necessary."

The thinly veiled threat had no effect on the stubborn Imperial. It merely drew her brows together and her lips flattened to a hard line. "I'm not leaving until you listen to what I have to say."

Lydia descended the rest of the stairs, stopping only when she stood before the shorter Imperial. A determination loomed behind her shining grey eyes while she stared the other woman down. "And if I don't care to listen to your nonsense?" she muttered dangerously.

Alex met the Nord's scowl head on, trying her best to ignore the thick tension around the room. And more adamantly, the stirring flame within her gut at the danger flashing behind Lydia's burning orbs. "Then this will become much more difficult than it has to be." Alex replied just as steely. Her words slithering out like steamed poison.

Both women ignored the near tangible tension roiling between them. Their distance, so nearly nonexistent that Alex could swear she heard Lydia's quickening pulse echo from within her steel cuirass. It felt as if every second that lapsed around them charged a looming electricity that would no doubt explode in a blend of confusing sensations the moment their skin touched. And though the pacing furry presence in Alex's mind almost yearned to reach out and touch the very figure that haunted her dreams for weeks now, she managed to keep her hand still before it even managed a twitch. It seemed so long since Alex had seen her last. All she could recall after their joining was weeks of chasing and near misses and drowning in the absence of the Nord's attention. And she recalled only seconds that accumulated in those rare moments that her eyes were on her. The electric feeling she felt thrum all throughout her skin whenever she managed to catch those gleaming grey gems in a lock; the reeling sensation of her Wolf's burden disintegrating to nothing and the ability to breath without struggle. The feeling she was experiencing in that very moment with Lydia's ever penetrating stare watching her as the fire beside them sent their skin flickering. Their heartbeats chorused a steady tempo; the only conversation being traded between the women, for neither trusted what would possibly slip from their lips had they given themselves the chance. But Lydia was the first to give.

"Difficulty can't come from something that didn't take place."

Alex's brows gathered. Her face contorting in confusion. Those eyes never left her, and she was thankful for it, otherwise she wouldn't have believed her ears if the intensity of Lydia's uttered denial hadn't been staring the Imperial in the face in the form of two piercing grey orbs. "You're denying it?" Alex couldn't fathom why the prospect hurt so much. They barely liked each other, could barely even endure each other and yet the idea of Lydia's refusal to accept their joining cut deeper than the surface.

Lydia's face was cut into a stone mask. Blank, and emotionless, but her eyes told Alex everything. "There is nothing to deny."

Alex shook her head, her Wolf's anger pulled the Imperial's lips over her teeth and nearly forced an outraged snarl from her throat. But Alex shut her eyes, shaking the burning itch to release it and looking off to the side for the familiar irritation in her eyes alerted her that Lydia would not see hurt pools of blue staring at her if she looked now. But burning golden lava that would threaten to devour her if given the chance.

"Very well." Alex's voice came out gruffer than she intended. Her Wolf demanding to be released. The Imperial clenched her fists against the coming Change. Her Beast's writhing muscles shoved at her skin. "I came here to resolve this, anyway. This should suffice, I suppose."

Alex retreated from the house, keeping her stare to the floor in hopes of veiling her amber eyes from the suddenly too close Nord inches from her. Alex ignored the worried glances of passing citizens. Panic seeping into her flesh as the Change began to take her. She scurried for Jorrvaskr, praying to Hircine that no one would witness her struggling form in the darkness of the night. The cold wind striked her sweat soaked flesh while she scrambled up the long stairs to the wind district in hopes that she'd reach the Underforge before she was spotted.

A painful roar exploded from her throat with the breaking of her shoulder blades. Alex fell to her knees at the top of the stone stairs shaking violently with her body's weakening resistance to the Beast's struggling for freedom. It felt as if a mammoth had brought its entire weight on her bones, it never hurt that badly...

Alex heaved herself from the cold ground and stumbled for Jorrvaskr once again, she concentrated on reaching the building as solely as she could for it was the only distraction that could be provided to steer her attention from the leaded ache in her chest that threatened to break her worse than her bones. Why did Lydia's denial hurt so much?

Alex didn't dwell too long for a vibrating growl ripped from her lips. And to her horror, an approaching torchlight was coming right for her.

She managed to stumble up the first few steps to Jorrvaskr before her spine split with a force fiercer than a sabre cat to accommodate her Beast. Alex released a shriek of pain much greater than the others and couldn't help but wonder why in Oblivion this transformation was hurting far worse than the previous ones. She felt her skin light aflame and practically swelter whenever a new break would take place. It never happened in the past and soon enough, as the Imperial heaved herself up the refreshingly cold steps to Jorrvaskr, she found her vision blurring strangely. Not like it usually did during Changes. Black splotches stained her sights and she came to find that she was actually about to faint.

Since when did she ever faint during Changes?

Alex howled against her breaking limbs and watched her hands drown in endless black. Razor claws slicing through the tips. Her cries reverberated across all of the wind district, quaking against the buildings and sending any nearby birds for the skies.

So much for not attracting attention.

A pair of strong hands scooped Alex from the ground and cradled her against cold metal. Her burning skin reveled against the cool steel that pressed against the exposed flesh that reached out from her shredded clothes. Alex twisted wildy against the strong hold around her. Her nearly all black vision giving her no knowledge of who held her. But the familiar voice that echoed faintly to her ears let her know she was in the company of friends.

"No that won't be necessary, she's suffering from a recent wound, we need to change her bandages and have her re-healed." Aela's voice emanated profession, but Alex could sense the looming unease behind her rushed façade, though.

"Get her to the Underforge," his voice was broken through miscomprehension and the Imperial's fading consciousness but she heard it all the same. Farkas hadn't sounded so serious in such a long time.

The far away grunt of comprehension from under the cuirass pressed to Alex's cheek barely registered but it reached her all the same and she recognized it immediately but a howl of agony bursted from her before she could thank him.

"No, stay away, housecarl!" Lydia? Was Farkas talking to Lydia? "- doesn't concern - Circle's business -"

Alex couldn't remember if her Beast took over before or after the Underforge slid shut, but the memory of the bone-shattering agony afterward would be forever burned in her memory.

XXXX

There wasn't much to be comprehended. Alex's eyes remained loosely shut in her weak consciousness and all that she could grasp was the sticky sheen of drying sweat tightening her skin in the most uncomfortable ways, the mingling scents of her fellow Circle members and a steady light stroking across her hair. And the most painful aches exploded within her muscles with every breath she took. Every now and then the incoherent murmurs of her fellow companion's would register briefly, but none gave her solid material to understand what was going on.

"- Never heard of -"

"That even poss -?"

"Felt like - was all happ - to me,"

"Can't deny - that sensat - real."

The Imperial's brows gathered, and with the motion her entire face contorted, only for her to regret every single microscopic motion. How could a simple shift in features hurt worse than breaking your toes? Alex attempted to rise from the ground. Setting off explosions of agony that ripped apart her muscles.

A steady hand held her down gently. And the Imperial couldn't help but be reminded of the night in Riften when she'd woken to a lustful Aela. Only instead of lust, absolutely excruciating pain buzzed across her being.

"Don't move too much, A - " Aela's voice was miles away, lost to the swimming reaches of Alex's unconscious mind. The Imperial's eyes searched everywhere beneath her lids, she kept her face as still as possible for the only movement she could manage without pain was that of her eyes.

"Nngghhh!" Alex cried in anguish, her entire body convulsed, only earning more unrelenting waves of searing pain. Every thrash she gave was matched with a shriek and every shriek that escaped burned her throat like fire. Voicing her pain only came with more pain and yet the Imperial could not seem to stop concentrating on the only image that shone clearly beneath her lids. The only steady thing that remained unmoving in the constantly rolling waves of torturing torment that was flooding Alex's senses.

A warm palm cupped her cheek and hurried footsteps gathered around the woman. "Alex st - movin -," Aela's voice, though as gentle as could be managed, turned edgy with growing panic. "Kodlak!"

"Hold her - tight as you - pain - only worsen."

The panicked scrambling of her companions reverted back to murmurs when the agony became too much. Blotches of absolute void spilled across her already unclear vision. Slowly blocking out the guilty grey gems staring sadly down at her.

"No!" Alex's shriek pierced the Underforge. It vibrated off the rocks like sharp knives. Her companions grimaced at the sheer agony that flooded her cry. Alex shot them with her desperation. Her pitiful wales breaking the hardened skin that they'd grown years before they even knew of her existence. The Imperial's hardly recognizable voice rumbled throughout the chamber with an inhuman, baritone, undertone. "_don't take her away from me! She's mine!_" her unconsciousness slowly devoured the guilted light within those piercing eyes and every time they went dimmer she felt all the more hopeless and desparate, she couldn't even understand herself at this point. Alex's desperately rumbling double-toned shouts exploded into guttural, agonized roars that devoured her voice completely: "**MINE!**"

And then Alex's world went dark the very second the void of unconsciousness devoured the light within those penetrating eyes. She felt cold, hopeless, and without purpose, she was drowning and no one around her could see it. And she was strangely reminded of the moment Lydia had uttered those words:

_'There is nothing to deny._'

XXXX

Only two of them stayed. The rest of the Circle had to run interference and feed excuses to the guards and the other Companions for the howling and the incessant screaming. Just the thought of how much brain power needed to cover this up made Alex's head pound. But of course, it was already pounding beforehand. And the exhaustion racking her body had started to better the lingering ache that resided as well. Alex hadn't moved from the stone floor. The thin furs that covered her now smelled of her sweat and the warm lap her head was cradled on still hadn't moved since after her second blackout. A warm hand brushed away the stray strands plastered to Alex's sweaty face.

"Is she ok?" Aela's worry leaded voice echoed almost stoically around the Underforge. Timid, like the very words themselves were aware of the anguish filled screams that filled the very same walls just hours ago.

"She will be." Kodlak's sagely voice sounded from higher up. He hadn't sat for even a moment, ready to combat Alex's Beast should She decide to return again. "she just needs rest. Her Wolf's gone through a lot."

"Her _wolf_?" Aela demanded incredulous. "did you not witness what transpired just moments ago?" Aela cut her words short, taking a deep and steadying breath. "apologies, Harbinger."

"Do not apologize. Your concern is understandable, Alex is very dear to us all and I suffered as much pain as the rest of you when I was forced to bare witness to such a painful sight as her suffering." Kodlak's deep voice paused a moment. "you must understand that whatever pain she's suffered, her Wolf suffered at least ten times more. You've felt it yourself I'm sure... when you Changed along with Farkas and I to help track Her down. Her pain became ours."

Alex felt Aela's grip tighten around her shoulders. A long breath escaping her companion. "It was so crippling... how could Alex endure it?"

"I don't believe she did."

"What?"

"Alex was unconscious during the brunt of everything. Had she been, she wouldn't have given such a struggle in her Beast. I think her Wolf purposefully forced her to unconsciousness to save her the suffering."

"A wasted effort." Aela spat disdainfully. "she suffered for nothing. And this is all because of that _Housecarl_ you insisted we take in-"

"Lydia is not at fault Aela. You know that. This is as unbeknownst to her as it is to Alex herself."

"She wouldn't be in pain right now if that damned woman weren't so fucking prejudice and insecure as to deny her fee-"

"Aela," Kodlak didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. For the authority that weighed his deep thrum was enough to quiet the angered huntress, it was always enough to silence the entire mead hall when need be. It brought Alex's brows to gather as well, for her interest had peaked and she found herself wanting to hear the rest of Aela's rant. "you're angry and upset for Alex, that's understandable. But our Lydia does not deserve the ire of your frustration. She's as much our shield-sister as Alex is."

Aela released a defeated sigh. "Sorry, Kodlak."

The tired Imperial stirred in Aela's lap. A sleepy groan bubbling from her throat and much weaker tremors of pain rattled her body. "Aela?" Alex mumbled to the darkness of her lids and felt Aela gently push down on her shoulders when they began to stir.

"I'm here, honey. Go back to sleep. You'll heal soon."

And sleep she did.

XXXX

When cerulean eyes emerged from under Alex's lids after what felt like ages, five separate figures sighed in utter relief. Alex had barely found that moving her face didn't hurt anymore. She hadn't had time to get her bearings though, for Farkas' hulking form hurried to her and crouched before her on the stone floor of the Underforge.

"Thank the Nine you're alright," he murmured in relief and reached a hand out for his close friend, only to still it just before it hovered over her hand. The other members of the Circle all flinched toward the man, ready to pull him away if he upset the tired Imperial too much. Farkas paid them no mind however and held his hand just above her own. His silver eyes regarded Alex with a near begging edge, asking silent permission to assure himself the comfort of at least her hand for they both knew a bear hug was too harsh a greeting.

A tired smile pulled at Alex's lips and the following nod resulted in the Imperial's hand drowning under both of Farkas' rough palms. The wolf's shoulders slumped with his visible relief at the mere contact. Alex chuckled, the rest of the Circle gathering around them.

"What did I miss?" the Imperial blinked at the sound of her voice. It was hoarse, and served a reminder to the endless hours she'd spent screaming in agony.

Vilkas stepped up and kneeled on Alex's other side. "Do you not remember?" he asked lowly.

"I remember the Change, then passing out, waking up in pain, passing out, waking up in pain, passing out, wake-"

"Ok, we get it," Aela chuckled fondly. Her hand still stroking Alex's matted hair. She still hadn't moved. "you've been out for two days. We've kept you here in the Underforge the entire time after we managed to track you down."

Alex blinked, her brows rising in subdued astonishment. "Wow... is that why I'm starving right now?"

The three companions closest to Alex chuckled lowly, all grinning brightly having had their friend back and hearing her voice. Void of that anguished undertone. "That would be it." Skjor answered. Even his permanent scowl was slightly lifted with his relief.

"Alex," Kodlak said. Earning the attention of the entire Circle. His aged features held a slight warmth at her recovery, but something in his eyes reminded the Circle of the information he'd have to deliver. Information Alex still wasn't aware of, information the others weren't sure how the Imperial would react to. "you've been through a lot. We've all been through much this past two days. I can tell you now that I've found answers to your questions and the reason behind the incident two days ago."

Alex's eyes lit at his words, her prompting for more already beginning to push at her lips when Kodlak continued, "However, I think it is best if you took some time to get your bearings before I tell you. It may not be the greatest news to you."

"But I want to know, really I'm better now Kodlak you can tell me-"

"Al," Farkas murmured. The knowing glint in his eyes left Alex falling short. "it's really intense. You should regain your energy before he tells you."

The Imperial frowned, feeling coddled and surrounded. "But I've waited long enough, I feel as if my Wolf nearly _killed _me the other night and I've spent the entire time since then huddled on the ground naked with all of you watching me. I find out that you know the reason behind it and you tell me to wait? Why in Hircine's name should I draw this out more aft-"

"Alex," Aela whispered from above. Her hand still gently stroking the Imperial's hair. "there's no rush. Kodlak will still be here in a couple more days."

Alex jumped up astonished, the furs covering her bare flesh nearly flew off had it not been for Vilkas' quick hands. "A couple DAYS! I can barely stand the thought of waiting another second and you expect me to wait DAYS?"

"Alex, please." Vilkas implored. "it would comfort us to know you're completely recovered before facing this potentially devastating news."

Alex had prepared to protest when Kodlak's voice once again demanded their attention in his unique way. "We will not force you to wait for your answers, Alex. I shall tell you now if you so wish it, but before you decide, understand that we only have your best interests at heart."

"It was torture having to watch you suffer," Aela muttered, catching the flustered Imperial's attention. The deep sadness that resided within her best friend's metallic eyes at the memory snuffed whatever fire had built in Alex's chest before it dropped to her stomach. "it felt even worse not being able to do anything about it. We fear this news might draw out the same reaction and I cannot bear another second of your agony." Alex felt Farkas tighten his grip around her hand.

"Kodlak can always be reached," Farkas added. "just spend this time recovering... please."

Alex looked upon the faces watching her. Some displaying a deep set concern for her and her condition, others not so intense. Five sets of identical silver eyes begged for her cooperation. Bags outlined each pair and an exhausted worry darkened their usually shining hues. But it was the guilt that blossomed from witnessing the pain in Aela's near haunted orbs that caused the Imperial's resolve to break. Alex slumped against her, shoulders deflating when she huffed.

"Ok... I'll give it a few days."

Farkas' grave face lit with relief before he released a happy laugh. "Great! Now let's get you up and cleaned before the others wake up. It's around three in the morning so we shouldn't run into anyone when we head into Jorrvaskr."

Kodlak patted Alex on the shoulder after Aela helped her off the ground. He smiled a dim grin at the Imperial's reluctant expression, "I will give you the answers you seek youngling. But please, recover first; for yourself and for us."

Alex slowly nodded, her arm holding up the furs around her naked flesh. "Yes, harbinger."

**xx**

**Thanks for reading. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

**Wow I'm really cranking these out. We're getting close to where I am in writing the story too.**

"It's good to see you up and moving. Remind me not to go to the others when I've got a grave wound to the chest."

Alex chuckled at Ria, nodding at her companion. "Oh I'll make sure of it." she confirmed.

The Circle had agreed to tell the others that Alex had suffered a severe slice to the chest. Using the other's lack of experience with restoration skills as an excuse for her screaming; claiming that they had to operate on her in a more traditional way... with stitches. When asked why they hadn't taken her to the Temple for healing, they merely proclaimed the Companions didn't need the help of others, being very capable of resolving the problems themselves. Some people didn't agree to the prospect.

"Enjoying all this attention?" Aela queried with a chuckle when Ria walked away. Alex glanced at her before cutting into her steak and consuming a portion.

"Not really. I don't like being the center of attention too much. It feels odd." Alex mused before grabbing her tankard and taking a sip. The first place they'd gone after leaving the Underforge was the washroom. Aela assisted the Imperial in bathing her while Farkas complained outside of their slowness. After her long awaited bath Alex was accompanied back to her and Aela's room where she slept for a good few hours. Her two best friends never leaving her side. The Imperial woke with even harsher an appetite than before they left the Underforge. She was relieved to hear Farkas had already requested for Tilma to cook a large meal. The mead hall had already accumulated a fair amount of companions by the time Alex's meal was ready.

"Who doesn't like attention?" Farkas asked from her other side, he nursed a sweetroll to his lips while Aela simply sat there with an elbow propped up on the large table. Ria was the third shield-sibling to come up and check on Alex, though she was the first that actually approached her for sincere concern compared to the others who'd reeked of absolute curiosity.

"Me," Alex answered around her steak. "why else do you think I stick to the shadows?"

"Because you can't fight." the Imperial playfully narrowed her eyes at her fiery haired best friend, shoving her shoulder against her before greedily devouring more of her steak.

"I resent that," Alex joked with a mouth full of food. "and I can defeat Farkas in hand-to-hand. So I can fight quite well, thank you."

Aela snorted, playfully rolling her silver eyes and tousling her fiery mane about. "Farkas can't fight either,"

"Hey!" he protested, but was ignored by both women.

"Fighting him is like fighting a giant with its legs cut off," Aela continued unfazed. Farkas frowned, Alex chuckled and patted his massive shoulder. "you wouldn't last in a brawl with me."

Alex smirked, shaking her head. The mead hall awoke with clashing blades at the end of the table, Companions on the other side of the hall came jogging to watch. "I'm starting to think you enjoy proving your 'dominance' over my skills."

The fiery huntress gave a chortle. "It's only enjoyable when there's a challenge."

"Then you should probably enjoy yourself against my left foot."

"Ha!" Farkas laughed, happy that Aela was finally getting an ounce of shit talking coming her way... even if it WAS true that Aela would win. The woman irked his nerves at times with her playful jeering. He always found himself wondering how Alex dealt with it so often.

Aela beamed, raising a middle finger at her eating friend. "Be grateful that you're too broken for me to engage you in a brawl right now."

Alex laughed. "What, scared I'll embarass you?"

"Big talk, Imperial. Big talk." Alex's easy grin fell. Her eyes visibly darkening at the nickname. It didn't matter the significant difference in utterance. It didn't matter that Aela spoke it in fond teasing. That she meant it as a playful jeer instead of the harsh demeaning sneer that it brought to light in her head, in that utterly familiar voice...

The Imperial's hands stilled over her plate. Eyes going distant when she was thrown into memories of what transpired two days ago. Remembering the events that unfolded with the woman that which the nickname reminded her of. Lydia's shining grey eyes lit in Alex's mind. The intensity they exuded that night before the Imperial's Beast went berserk. They brimmed of confusion and denial, overflowing with doubt as they pierced the woman's soul while her tongue stabbed her heart.

'There is nothing to deny.'

Why did that hurt so much? They'd got along for all of two hours before things got bad again. Yet Alex felt the ire of Lydia's denial as if the woman herself had plunged her blade into the Imperial's very flesh. And she might as well have.

"Aela," Farkas reprimanded lowly, catching what he assumed had made Alex grow distant.

The huntress realized her slip. Her eyes slid shut and she pinched the bridge of her nose. Farkas looked as if he wanted to slap her, and she would have let him do it without repercussions too.

"I'm sorry." Aela murmured to her friend. Watching the dimming blues of her eyes catch to her own. "I didn't mean to upset you."

After several blinks back to reality, Alex shook her head. Disregarding the apology and making an effort to get back to her meal. Her appetite was lost on her though.

During the Imperial's wash, Aela informed her that they'd bombarded Lydia with questions since she'd been the last person to see her before the violent Change. At first it was to make sure she hadn't suspected, but then it became apparent that they'd separated on heated terms. And from what they'd discovered throughout Alex's bizarre Change, they had a strong idea why it upset her.

"Not necessary," Alex mumbled to her food. She set down her fork and grabbed her tankard full of tea, taking as long a drink that could be managed without searing her throat. But then, perhaps that would be for the best, for it would provide a good distraction from the sudden tightness in her chest. And the thrashing she felt her Wolf give at the sight of those orbs in her mind's eyes. "you did nothing wrong." Alex flinched, her fingers bit into the table's wood; an attempt to anchor herself from the stirring she felt inside.

"Shit, you okay?" Farkas muttered lowly, attempting to avoid any unneeded attention.

Alex pulled in a breath, releasing it in trembles. She unclenched her fingers from the table. "I'm fine." she mumbled. "I don't understand why She keeps trying to come out at the simplest implication of that woman though." Alex didn't dare utter her name.. fearing that if she even let it stroke her tongue, her Beast would surely react.

The relative silence of her friends struck a suspicion within the Imperial's gut. Her brows gathered when she watched the silent, knowing, conversation Aela and Farkas had on either side of her; their mouths pressed into hard lines and only their eyes reflected matching depths of knowledge that Alex was dying to obtain. "You know something." she accused.

Alex's two best friends watched her, looking partially as if they'd been caught stealing from Kodlak's room. "What is it?" Alex insisted.

"We really shouldn't tell you-" Aela started.

"Bullshit," Alex interrupted. "I want to know,"

"You still haven't recovered yet," Farkas joined, his posture showing hints of growing distress as he watched his companion grow irate before his eyes. "it's part of what Kodlak is going to tell you,"

Alex blinked. Her face nearly went blank had it not been for the slightly riled edge her features took on. Alex dropped her hands to her lap in fear that they'd crush the contents of the table. Her Wolf stirred within her and she had to resist the insistent snarl pulling at the side of her lips. "Why do you get to know what is going on with me while I'm stuck with trying to control whatever it is?"

"Lower your voice, the others will wonder," Aela warned.

"I'll tone my voice as I please. Why won't you tell me?"

"The information can fluster you," Farkas informed. Deciding it was due time he joined when he noticed the Imperial's trembling hands; the first subtle signs of Change, then the eyes would itch, then the bones would break. "we don't know how you're going to react and if the worst should result from your knowledge, we want you to at least have steadied yourself."

"I'm not a child. Do not coddle me,"

"Then stop acting like one and be patient," Aela snapped. Her silvery eyes flashing the first hints of annoyance. The huntress ignored the slight baring of teeth her companion gave. "we don't know if your body can handle whatever in Oblivion happened to you, again. If knowing what's going on coaxes the wrong reaction from your Wolf again you could possibly _die_, Alex. And we will not have that on our conscience." the fire in Aela's words lured a small shock from the Imperial. She'd witnessed it before, she just never felt it burn her before. "I will not watch my best friend die because of foolish impatience."

Alex found no words could come to her. The angered irritation in her chest died the moment Aela's emotion ridden eyes sliced through the woman's stubbornness. The conviction didn't calm her, nor did the anger. It was the utmost panic she saw looming dangerously in the back of the warrior's gleaming orbs that had Alex forgetting her words and slumping back.

"I'm sorry.." Alex muttered. Guilt began to lurk into her skin. "how insensitive of me.."

"Don't apologize," Farkas nearly chided. "we're asking a lot of you to wait. You are entitled to know what's going on with you. We just want to make sure you're more durable in case things go askew."

"Speaking of askew," Aela muttered. Alex looked to see the Nord's metallic eyes glaring straight ahead, just over the large fire pit before them.

Alex began turning to look, but she didn't need to see to know who Aela was scowling at. For she heard the woman's subtly relieved utterance from across the hall: "Alex..."

A convulsion racked the Imperial's chest, making her double over in her seat. Her eyes squeezed shut, face twisting as irritation lit in her irises. She was thankful she'd dropped her hands to her lap for they would surely do damage now that they were quickly wearing down the material of her trousers.

"Glorious..." Alex muttered sardonically.

Alex heard her approaching boots thump heavily against the stairs to the dining table. The scratching and scraping clanks of the shifting pieces of steel the woman adorned gave Alex the exact location she was at with each step. And each step that was taken made the thrashing within the Imperial worsen. Farkas' large hands gently hoisted Alex from her seat. Her shoulders twitched and convulsed as the Wolf continued to struggle. Alex only saw the worn material of Farkas' armored chest when she managed to rip open her eyes. He had already began to lead her for the doors behind them while Aela stood stiffly from her chair. Her silvery eyes never released those of Lydia's concerned stare. But the housecarl hadn't noticed, for her sights were struggling to set on the trembling and retreating form of the Imperial hidden behind Farkas' lumbering figure.

"Wait, I need to speak to her," Lydia's request sounded almost pleading. A subtle desperation that sent confusion through the flustered Imperial being ushered for Jorrvaskr's back doors. Alex's chest constricted, she fell forward for the force felt mind numbing. Farkas caught her however, and steadied her, not once stilling their trek for the exits.

"Alex can't talk right now." Aela informed. Though the sharpened point of her words sounded more like a warning:_ 'Do not approach or I will kick your ass'_

"I just need a moment,"

"No moments. She needs to be tended to, her wound is flaring."

Farkas forced open one of the back doors, the cool afternoon wind blew against them instantly and the Imperial he lugged along calmed slightly.

"I'll come along-"

"We're taking her to the Underforge. Only Circle members are permitted to enter." Aela's flared snap was swallowed by the thick wooden doors, all the bustle inside died as well.

XXXX

Alex leaned against a cool stone altar, catching her breath much easier now that other noises didn't encroach on her strained concentration. The absence of Lydia's presence helped greatly as well. When Aela entered the quiet Underforge, Alex's breathing had reverted from double toned growling to heavily labored heaves.

"I'm guessing this whole Wolf thing is going to keep me away from Lydia?" Alex guessed sarcastically. Her hands bracing her knees while she caught her breath.

"Pretty much." Farkas answered and the Imperial simply nodded. Her head drooped slightly while the Wolf calmed.

"I kind of figured that."

**xx**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

Alex rolled her shoulders, relishing in the absence of discomfort that came with the movement. The cool night air stroked her skin while she walked, no direction, no intention. She just walked, wandered aimlessly through the empty plains around Whiterun. She'd wandered quite far however, and even the distinct outline of Dragonsreach could barely register whenever she looked back. Part of her wanted to Change and feel the grass beneath the pads of her paws instead of around the material of her boots. But a much larger part of her did not want to flirt with the idea of another two days of torture should anything go awry after the Wolf was loose. She'd been a real bitch lately.

Alex's mouth lifted slightly, a huff of a chuckle leaving her at the thought. Then she let out an easy sigh. She'd argued for hours with Aela and Farkas trying to convince the two that she'd be fine by herself for a while. They'd been refusing to let Alex out of their sights ever since the questionable incident and a steady anxiety had been rebuilding within her. She needed time alone, _completely _alone. And Alex was reveling every single second of her long awaited solitude. The Imperial's cerulean eyes rose toward the moons above, releasing yet another light breath at the Aurora blended night. It reminded her of the night she'd gone hunting in her Wolf at Robber's Gorge. The way Aela had assisted her with the Bandit Chief. How her only worry then was ruining her best pair of leathers. Now though, now her mind was riddled with various outcomes of the oncoming conversation with Kodlak that the Imperial was practically fidgeting to have. Alex constantly questioned why her Wolf was so responsive to Lydia-

"Ngghh," Alex grunted when her Beast twitched against her chest.

-or even the i_dea _of Lydia. The moment the Nord had denied their joining, the night her Wolf had lead her to Lydia, the odd dreams, that first night during Lydia's Trial. Her Wolf reacted oddly on every occasion.

After days and days of contemplation, Alex could only come to one conclusion that made even an inkling of sense; her Wolf wanted to eat Lydia, see to the woman's demise. Every second Alex had spent away from Lydia she could feel her Wolf's anxiety, her restlessness. All because of Her eagerness to end the woman.

_'Why else would She be so difficult?'_ Alex wondered, walking silently down her own road. Not paying much attention to anything other than the fact that she was FINALLY alone.

But then a certain moment came to light in Alex's mind.

**_"SHE JUST WANTS TO MAKE ME HERS, LIKE YOU'VE ALREADY MADE ME YOURS"_**

That dream Alex had had in Riften, just before waking to Aela. What Lydia had said, it didn't fit in with everything else. What would she mean by_ 'MAKE ME HERS'_ or better yet, what did she mean by_ 'ALREADY MADE ME YOURS'_ did her Wolf want to...

Alex grimaced. The idea of performing some kind of bestiality churned her stomach most unpleasantly. But then she found herself shaking her head at her ridiculousness._'It was a dream. You have plenty of dreams.'_ she reprimanded herself.

Alex kicked a pebble with her boot, huffing silently as she continued on her aimless venture. Aela and Farkas were probably sweating arrows right about now. But the Imperial merely shrugged. She'd let them sweat for a bit longer.

It wasn't as if they weren't doing the same to her; dangling the information over her head and denying her the relief of at least _knowing_ what was happening to her. But then she sighed, realizing how unfair the thought was.

_'They're just protecting me.'_ the Imperial silently muttered in her mind, her leathered feet taking her toward higher terrain. She found herself continuously reaching up to scoop her hair from her eyes as the wind picked up. The flickering curtains of her ebony mane constantly obscuring her vision while she slowly and thoughtlessly climbed the hill before her._ 'I'd do the same for them.'_

The Imperial had nearly reached the tip of the hill, making to settle atop it to stare at the stars for a few moments and enjoy the limited time she had to herself when a stray scent struck her nose in the windy night.

Her muscles locked, eyes popping wide in surprise and subtle wariness. The tips of her nails bit into her palms as the scent lingered across her pallet. The Beast stirred anew within the Imperial's skin. Alex braced herself for pain but the scents that gave chase to the enthralling perfume snuffed the struggle like a flame. The Imperial flinched, feeling the Beast freeze much like she herself had done just moments ago. Eventually, she felt the Beast's hackles bristle and an oddly protective snarl whispered in her head as an insistent pull that Alex had been trying to ignore lead her body to a crouch and continue off the other side of the hill. The familiarly worn logs that bordered the rocky terrain sent Alex blinking once. _'Robber's Gorge?'_

Had she really not been paying enough attention during her stroll? She didn't even notice she'd wandered this far from the hold... then again, she barely realized her Wolf had been using that damned PULL on her again. And from previous experience, she knew where that pull would lead her. The memorized scent that registered to her nostrils only proved Alex's assumptions correct.

The Wolf flexed within the Imperial's skin, impatience gathering at Alex's lack of movement during her brief confusion. She continued ahead, maneuvering silently over the various rockied hills that framed the front entrance to Robber's Gorge. Although this time, the additional smells hitting her nose gave no indication of any sentries standing watch. Alex bypassed the entrance, however, and proceeded to the rear rocks. She crawled up toward the tips, her leathered stomach hovered over the stone the entire time. The black night silenced her presence as she used her elbows to move, trying to differentiate whose scent was who with the bewitching scent throwing her off. They were frighteningly familiar and sent enough shock to even silence her Wolf-

A gruff huff and following growl rumbled in the Imperial's mind.

-well... silence Her to a certain extent. But it wasn't the familiarity that drew slight panic beneath Alex's skin, it was the fact that they were all coming from the same vicinity. And the idea sparked a subtle anger as well. The way the Wolf's head lowered with Her haunches raised told the Imperial that she wasn't alone in her newly born rage. _'Please don't give me trouble this time.'_ Alex pleaded. _'there's a lot of those fuckers and she might need us. We can't help her if we're struggling against each other the entire time. And if you let her die you don't get to come out for an entire year.'_ an almost deflated rumble echoed in her head and the Wolf gave in, a slightly less tense air now residing in the Imperial's head. Alex gave her slight relief in a sigh. _'thank you.'_ the almost childish growl she got in return might as well had been her Wolf mumbling 'whatever' and Alex found herself unable to stop the roll of her azure eyes at the petulant act. _'oh hush you big furry baby.'_

"Look Brugo, they sent the pretty lady after us." the derisive tease sent the Imperial on alert. Her Wolf tensing as well but holding true to their agreement for there was no struggle nor pain as Alex shimmied up the last expanse of stone and was graced the view of the camp. Alex's gut twisted at the numbers.

_'Holy fucking shit...'_ the Wolf stirred uncomfortably._ 'not yet.'_ Alex warned, and drew her bow slowly. Cerulean orbs never left the crowd of men. Fearing that if she looked away for even a second, they'd attack. Alex retrieved an ebony arrow from her quiver and rose to a knee. She let the black metal fall into place before tugging the bowstring back until it tugged at the side of her lips, the arrow's feathers tickling her cheek as she took aim and waited.

"It's not the right lady..." the tallest man, most likely Brugo, replied absently. His scarred eyes scanning said lady's armored form and raised sword at his leisure. The Imperial was tempted to let her metal fly.. she didn't like the way he looked at her. Neither did the Wolf. "her eyes are grey. Neither of them have grey eyes. She must be of lower rank."

The woman's sword rose in ready, agitation rolling off her steeled shoulders in waves as she squared herself. "Do not speak of me as if I am not present!" her voice had Alex struggling to keep her arrow nocked, the Wolf growing anxious all the while. _'Please don't eat her if I have to call on you..'_ Alex asked of her Wolf, earning only bared teeth from her Beast. Suddenly her fear wasn't just the potental injury dealt by the men, but by herself if the situation called for the assistance of her Wolf. And the way the crudely clothed men easily surrounded the dark haired warrior screamed at the Imperial that she would have no choice.

Alex lowered her bow, lessening the pull she had on the midnight metal and placing them both on the stone beside her. She went to undo the catch on her sleeveless leathers, exposing her light flesh to the night wind and folded it as quickly as she could silently thanking the gods that she didn't wear a bra this time, less clothes to lug around. She undid her pants and boots and tied them all to the leather cord around her ankle, fighting against the cold wind biting into her completely exposed flesh. Alex felt slightly ridiculous when she returned to a knee and picked her weapons back up to retrain aim upon the leader. She never spent more than a few seconds as a human whenever she bound her clothes to her ankle. The Beast always took over immediately afterward.

Brugo adopted an amused expression at the woman's angry demand, his men donning angry sneers as they went to retrieve their weapons. Alex tightened her grip around her bowstring in anxiety for the woman. Knowing damn well she didn't even deserve the worry Alex found brewing in her gut. "Not present?" the man repeated darkly. The derisive grin painting his worn face reflected silent danger. "oh, but don't you see?" he spoke as if to a child, rough voice feathering the night like a predator through grass. "when my men are done with you, there will be nothing left." said men began to approach the defensive Nord, Alex shifted uncomfortably as her Wolf began to stir in impatience. "it would be as if you weren't present in the first place... _companion_." he spat the last word, of his sentence and of his life, for the Imperial let her arrow finally fly. Impaling him through his skull. The swiveled tip making easy entrance across his flesh. Gods she loved ebony arrows, always so effective. The people below grew flustered and confused at the sudden death of their leader. The men closest to him kneeled down to examine his corpse. Alex capitalized on their confusion and quickly nocked another arrow and let it fly into another at the same time Lydia sliced into a man's shoulder.

The Imperial gave silent thanks to the gods for Lydia's preference of heavy armor, because if she hadn't donned it, she'd have joined the growing pile of dead a long time ago. The Nord gave moderate fight, fending them off enough to give her own offensive swipe every now and then but with her thrashing movements she almost never gave the sniping Imperial a clear shot.

_'Fuckin' Lydia..'_ Alex complained in her head when said woman stepped before the target she'd been aiming for. She re-aimed and landed a hit to another's knee. Her hand flew back and nocked another arrow like a sparked flame and releasing it into the same man's head when he'd collapsed to his good knee at the first. She fought back the 'fuck yes!' she felt jump at her lips at the kill and trained her crystal sights to another, which Lydia once again blocked. With a huff Alex re-aimed, sending a midnight arrow flying and once again making contact.

"Nnghh!" Lydia choked against the thick arm around her neck that hoisted her off the ground.

"Fucking kill her already!" the man ordered the surrounding men.

The Imperial's lip rose in a snarl at the raising blade of his comrad. Her nocked arrow whistled through the air, ending its song in a wet squelch when it flew straight through the man's head.

"Who in Talos' name is that fucking bootlicker!" a man yelled in flustered frustration when another of his allies fell dead at Alex's hand. Her position still far from compromised. Alex readied another shot, her hand not pulling as far when she aimed for the man Lydia still struggled against. Couldn't risk it going through and wounding her as well. The metal made contact, and it allowed Lydia's escape from the hulking man's ungiving grip. But it didn't stop the painful scream she gave when another warrior's silver sword sliced across her flesh. Lydia fell to the ground in a heap, the others surrounding her slowly advanced on her as she scrambled away to the nearest blade for she'd dropped her own long ago. But she crawled into yet another grip of the now wounded man and was left to struggle AGAIN while the others approached threateningly.

An enraged snarl ripped through the Imperial's lips at its own accord, catching the attention of the men below. She'd reached for another arrow only to feel the utter absence of any within her quiver. Alex wasted no time, shoving her bow inside the empty pack and tossing it in a nearby tree while her Wolf began to wake.

_'Do NOT kill her!'_ Alex demanded. The only thing she could do for she could feel that the last remnants of the Wolf's microscopic impatience had burned out. The approaching men stilled their steps in favor of raised sights, their eyes scanning the darkness in which Alex now dwelled as she Changed. She knew she couldn't stop it, even if she did what could she do? There were no more arrows, and vaulting to help in hand-to-hand would upset her Wolf and cause a Change anyway. She might as well do it without the prying eyes of Lydia because leaving her to die for Alex's own benefit was OUT of the question.

A guttural roar broke the night when Alex was finally encased in fur, the bandages around her first two fingers breaking from the strain of her claws and the leather around her haunch tensed at her thickened leg.

"Well well," one of the men said as Alex leaped from the darkness and into the torchlight of the large camp. The sharp, sickening sting of the smell of their silver swords pierced this nose much sharper than that of her human. "one of their dogs came after all."

"Oh gods..." she heard the housecarl mutter.

The Wolf broke into a full sprint for the remaining Silver Hand, her movements carefully practiced for their blades would easily slow her down. Alex allowed her Wolf the freedom in the battle, remembering Aela's previous advice about clashing instincts and becoming flustered. This was not the time to be thrown off, for if they slipped even once, the utter burn of silver would surely find its way into their thickened flesh.

The Wolf released a choked snarl when one of the Silver Hand jumped to Her back and snaked his arms around Her throat. She dodged his comrade's plummeting sword by rolling over, thusly crushing the man upon her back with blending screams and the harsh cracking of bones. A shrieked whimper was pulled from Her muzzle by the harsh slash of silver to the right side of Her face. The Beast blinked against the painful laceration embedded utterly close to Her right eye. A peaking anger roiled within Her furred chest that spilled from her blood dripping muzzle in the form of an ear-piercing roar. The Beast fell into battle once again, exchanging injury with the remaining men as they teamed around Her. Alex barely registered the familiar battle grunts of her shield-sister somewhere behind her as she ridded of the hunters before her.

The Wolf leaped, much to the protest of the various points of burning pain across Her flesh. She found Her target, so did the hunter, but the agonized roar She gave when he plunged his sword into the side of her stomach died out when she clamped her razor teeth around his smirking head. Silver wounds healed much slower than others, and so the Beast fed, the burns slowly dulling over time. Time that spanned a lot longer than the usual. But her feeding was cut short when a deeply ground blade sent her insides bursting to agonizing flames. Nearby wildife flittered away at the sheer agony reverberating about the night. Hawks dispersed from the trees to escape the piercing cry while the Wolf kicked the offender away, squaring once again to defend Herself despite the slight reel Her most recent wound had Her under.

She'd tensed Her legs in ready to pounce when defensive grey eyes connected with Her bloodlust ridden crimsons. Lydia rose her stolen sword once again between shaking hands in ready to defend when an outraged roar escaped the Wolf's bloodied muzzle. Alex struggled within, attempting to will her Beast's limbs away from the Nord before She could attack. But Her heavy paws only dug deeper into the grass, red eyes narrowing at the Nord feet away and Her lips peeling back to expose Her stained razor teeth when Her crimsons landed upon the most grave wound running down Lydia's left arm, dripping of blood.

The Wolf ignored the pleading of Her master as She dug Her claws into the dirt and leaped for the injured Lydia.

**_'No!'_**

**xx**

**Just a sidenote, the leather cord around the ankle thing was borrowed from Twilight.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

The injured wolf batted the silver sword away with a clawed hand and shoved the armored Nord to the ground with Her dripping muzzle. Lydia gave an exalted grunt at the harsh shove to her stomach and nearly coughed when the ground flew up to force the air from her lungs. The Wolf hulled over the downed warrior. Reddened eyes scanning the expanse of Lydia's form. The Nord smacked her closed hand up toward the Beast's dark bicep but it was instantly pinned to the grass with an open palm of fur. Lydia's other hand coming to the same fate soon after. Lydia continued to struggle beneath the massive wolf, her body attempted to thrash and throw Her off that way. The Beast, however, grew tired of her efforts and unleashed a loud, hot, roar directly into the squirming warrior's face. Immediately Lydia stilled with grey eyes of slight panic as she felt the Wolf's loud and strong huffs brush her skin most unpleasantly. The dank smell of the dead men still lingering in Her breath. The Wolf remained there. Standing over the prone Nord just staring down upon those seemingly tired and panicked grey orbs as they refused to stray from Her own. Lydia panted beneath the Wolf, her excursion finally catching up with her. The hovering fur of the Beast above and the heat of her steel cuirass made her feel overheated, almost suffocated even though there was little to no weight being exerted from the Beast. Save for the pinning, clawed, palms that drowned her pale hands.

Lydia grew impatient, a fire beginning to light in her piercing eyes. The Wolf remained still above her, steadily blowing heat across her face as those now subtly orange eyes watched her and stabbed her. Accusations flashed behind the Beast's ungiving stare, a looming rage of its own blossoming in the very backs of those lightening hues. The weight on the Nord's trapped hands greatened to the point of pain that brought a wince to her pale features. The Beast's muzzle rose up to reveal her teeth as hurt began to flash much clearer than the plethora of clashing emotions within her glare. Lydia's pained expression slowly melted to that of confusion when she witnessed the questionable edge of hurt accusation shooting her down like poison. Alex struggled for control as she witnessed the Nord's perplexity through the much sharper eyes of her Beast, who still had refused to give. The Wolf's shoulder twitched when the Imperial managed a microscopic glance of control. The Beast dug Her claws deeper into the ground, resisting the itching need to submit to Her master and forgetting the fragile hands trapped beneath.

"Aaggh! Gods if you're going to kill me fucking kill me already!" Lydia demanded underneath when she felt the pressure upon her hands becoming too much for her to handle.

Both Beast and Imperial stilled their struggle, suddenly aware of their position above the human warrior once again. The Beast lifted her hands from the Nord's to place them just over her wrists, giving them the chance to breath. Lydia gave a confused scowl as she rolled her hands, opening and shutting them to make sure nothing was broken. Nothing was. The Wolf suddenly trained her fading eyes toward Lydia's bad shoulder, watching the blood spurt at a much slower rate than before. She hovered her large snout just over it and sniffed, much to Alex's instant panic and renewing efforts to reclaim control.

**_'I told you not to fucking eat her!'_**

The Beast ignored Her master, craning down slowly to snake a bright pink tongue across the long, running, wound in a slow and languorous movement. Alex had to admit, the sweet taste was entrancing even to her when her Beast went for another. Lydia renewed her struggle when the Wolf didn't retract Her tongue, neither her nor Alex noticing when the large muscle emanated a subtle glow. The flesh that which it caressed beginning to close and soften to nothing.

"What are you-" Lydia groaned when the long, subtly glowing tongue smeared sloppily up the side of her face, the subtle cuts there closing. She didn't notice what had happened until she realized the lack of pain on her skin. She cranes her neck to examine her shoulder, gasping when she saw the healed and slightly glistening skin. Her head fell back and eyes flew to the Beast's above. Disbelief and astonishment flashing most prominent over otherwise confounded and utterly captured grey orbs. "D-did you just..."

The Beast gave her no chance to continue, and nudged her pale face aside with a large snout. The sudden movement spurred Lydia's wariness back to light and clamped her lips shut as she felt the Beast's cold nose run lightly up and down the soft expanse of her vulnerable neck. Alex's grasp nearly returned, the Beast lowly growled at Her dwindling control. Lydia gritted her teeth when she felt the cool inhale of the Beast's snout pressed against her neck. She stirred when that large tongue warmed her flesh. There were no wounds there, but the Wolf lapped at anyway, returning Her large and cold snout to trace the same path that her tongue once took. Alex forced her Beast's hands away Lydia's wrist. The only limb that obeyed. The Beast slowly opened her jaws, sharp teeth shining in the moonlight as they were slowly lowered toward the Nord's moist flesh. Lydia's free hand slowly Palmer the grass for a weapon, always coming up empty while the distance between her and those teeth diminished at a painstakingly slow pace. It was when the Wolf's teeth made gentle contact to her skin that Lydia finally fingered a hilt. But before she could grasp it completely a lithe pale body collided with her captor in a flash of fierce waving red a creamy pallor.

A gruff snarl bursted from the Wolf as the two rolled a ways away from Lydia, who'd began to hoist herself from the dirt.

Aela hooked her arms around the Wolf's thick throat, her body pressed atop Her furry back and her mouth was pressed to the Wolf's pointed ear. "This is why we didn't want to leave you alone." she murmured lowly.

She managed to throw the huntress from her back and against the Chief's house. A snarl rolled from her muzzle as she glared at the woman for her interruption.

As the two began to struggle, Lydia stumbled to her feet, grabbing the sword she'd found in her haste and prepared to aid the huntress. She tripped over the unmoving leg of a downed hunter however, and landed upon the corpse of another. She groaned when contact was made, a thin rod of metal cooling her cheek where it stuck out from the corpse she lain upon. When the Nord managed to rip her eyes open she was graced with the body a shining black arrow, erected from the hunter. The dark night flitted the equally black feathers about where it stood not so high from its place having driven quite deeply. A spark of recognition hit her.

Aela snagged at her companion's tail, earning a high pitched whimper of shocked pain when she managed to pull Her back into the shadows and just that much further from Lydia. "You can't eat her Alex!" Aela gritted between her locked teeth only loud enough for the Wolf to hear. "wake the fuck up and take control of your fucking Wolf!"

Lydia pushed herself to her knees, grey eyes never straying from the familiar dark metal protruding from the man. She stared in shocked disbelief for a few moments more before lifting her gaze to the others to find the arrow's various twins standing just as proudly from their chests and heads and limbs.

"If you're in there, Alex you need to get back to the Underforge. Tilma will take care of you there." Aela informed beneath the Wolf's hulking frame. Her silver metallic eyes boring deeply into the once again amber eyes of her companion, pleading for the Imperial's conscious to return and just LEAVE before she'd be forced to hurt her. A struggle came to light in those rolling golden pools.

The Nord examined the broken ebony arrow in her hands. Remembering the various times she'd seen plenty just like it stored away in a quiver strapped to the back of her Imperial shield-sibling. The sibling whose agonized screams pierced her ears from Breezehome that night.

A beastly growl of growing irritation bubbled from Aela's throat. Her silver eyes drowning in thick layers of more silver, giving them a depth that was almost hypnotizing. "Alex," Aela growled. The Imperial's conscious slowly slid into place... her Wolf having began to submit to the demanding appearance of Aela's Beast. "get a hold of yourself and get the fuck home." she demanded sharply. "I will kill you if you let yourself die of blood loss,"

Grey orbs rose to the high rocks that overlooked the rear of Robber's Gorge, squinting and searching for any signs of movement despite the fact that had anyone been there, they would be long gone by now. An astonished breath escaped the Nord when she finally ripped her eyes from the lifeless dark and weighed the arrow in her hands. She finally closed her fingers upon the cold material, specifically around the feather area. The Nord could almost swear she felt a distant shock from where her savior's fingers had been. "You sneaky Imperial." she muttered to herself. A fond, grateful grin shaping the subtlest quirk to her full lips.

XXXX

"Sss, OW fuck that shit fucking-" Alex clamped her teeth upon her closed fist and grimaced against the pain in hopes to fight the burn away.

Tilma's calm, rolling chortles blew warmth upon the young Imperial's lower back. "I don't care how old you are, it always surprises me how much you kids curse nowadays," she said fondly.

Alex tensed when she felt the sterilized tongs prod at her tender wound and the Oblvivion melting burn that seared her skin when the servant extracted another silver shard from the deep wound. She was thankful they'd finally gotten the bleeding to stop. Alex was on the verge of passing out, even now her head still swam, tiptoeing on unconsciousness. But not even her loose grip on awareness ebbed the burning. "Sorry Tilma... it just hurts so godsdamn much, ngghh!" Alex was definitely NOT talking to Lydia for a while after this... not that they were even talking a lot anyway. The damned woman's got a good sword arm.

A gentle smile pulled at the old woman's weathered lips. "Oh don't apologize, child. I'd probably be cursing up a large storm as well if I were in your position. From what I've witnessed, it must hurt like Oblivion's ass."

The Imperial blinked at the unexpected curse. She shifted her head over her shoulder, bunching her brows when she saw Tilda's fazeless old features shaped in an oblivious smile. The woman's aged eyes caught the young wolf's, then her grin widened. "Tilma!" Alex muttered incredulous. No other words coming to mind for her to say.

"What?" the old woman asked humorously. "didn't think an old hag like me was capable of cursing? Remember I was out and about long before you were even born,"  
Alex frowned slightly, repositioning her cheek upon her hands and quietly bracing herself against the burning sting. "I tell you that girlfriend of yours really did you in."

Instantly the Imperial bolted upright, upsetting her wound and unleashing near agonizing chomps of bitter burning pain. "Wha-aggh! Fucking motherfucking shit! Hircine's name what the fuck!" Tilma willed the Imperial back to her stomach with a gentle and wrinkled hand, shaking her head slightly at the young woman's obscenities while a small smile pasted her old face. Everyone's first silver wounds were most unpleasant, but they were also the most amusing to witness. The amounts of curse words that could be stringed together in one breath was astonishingly entertaining.

"Oh now look what you've gone and done," Tilma clicked her teeth and retrieved a clean rag from the nearby table, pressing it to the newly surfacing blood and applying pressure to stop it. "don't stir too much, child."

"Lydia's not my girlfriend!" Alex squeaked, her voice tight and sharp and even a little rude. She winced at the idea and thought about apologizing to the old servant for her rudeness but the agony that bursted about her flesh killed her words before they formed. _'Fuck this shit hurts!'_

Tilma's deeply trilling old laugh filled the Underforge walls as she went back to cleaning Alex's wounds. "Of course, apologies. I meant your consort."

"Wha-" Tilma's hands flew to Alex's shoulders, keeping her down when she made to bolt again.

"I'll need for you to not do that, child. You can only lose so much blood." when Alex got her bearings she nodded and tried her best to make her muscles lax.

"Lydia's not my... consort, either.." Alex muttered uncomfortably.

Tilma's eyes rolled while she worked. "Okay your INTEREST, whatever you call her. She did a number on you."

"Tilma.." Alex began.

"Now now, don't try to deny it, it's pointless to do so. You can't fool an old servant, I've seen it all coming. Even Skjor and Aela before she'd gone to you."

Alex blinked. "You know about that?" it wasn't that they were hiding it, they just didn't think it caught anyone's attention.

Tilma laughed, "Honey, anyone living within walking distance to your quarters should know. You two are a couple of hormone brimming bunnies and frankly, I'd appreciate it if you kept it down at least a LITTLE at night. This old servant needs her sleep, I'm not as young as I used to be, you know. Had that been true I would have happily taken Skjor when Aela was done with him."

"Oh gods I'm not hearing this," Alex mumbled to herself as she slammed her palms to her ears, eyes shutting and voice making off key melodies to block out the servant's voice.

With a fazeless grin of impish glee Tilma continued her teasing. "I tell you if I still had a couple years off, you ladies wouldn't be the only ones keeping your shield-siblings up at night."

"La la la la, I don't hear anything!"

XXXX

"So, when are you going to ask her out?"

Really, Alex must not have spent enough time with the old servant because almost every other thing that came from the woman's mouth had her eyes widening in surprise. She could really see herself partying with the woman. Funny company.

"I'm not going to ask her out." Alex replied, her hand clutching for dear life against the edge of the work table she was on. The burn was gone, fortunately, now she just had to deal with the sting of the stitches. "she denies that we even slept together. And besides, she can't stand the sight of me, and I of her."

Tilma clicked her teeth in disapproval. "You kids and your idiocy. Always so caught up in the games and insecurities your mind drops on you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you two are wasting time avoiding each other when you could be doing something more timeworthy. _'Making out'_ I think you kids call it, sure as Oblivion would be more productive than staying away from each other when you so clearly can't stand the distance."

Alex shook her head at Tilma's use of the term, slightly from embarrassment and slightly from amusement. "I don't avoid her. I've been trying for weeks to talk to her but she always vanishes, it's frustrating. And now with this thing where my Wolf keeps me from even hearing her voice without freaking out, I don't see how I'd manage a conversation with her without eating her..." Alex thought about the last part for a moment.. thinking that maybe it wasn't the best choice of words around Tilma and her apparent suggestive personality.

Sure enough, a thick chuckle escaped the old servant as her hands continued to stitch the Imperial together. "You should probably save that for after your third date-"

"Tilma!" Alex groaned embarrassed, she usually didn't get embarrassed, but the fact that Tilma was very much her elder made her feel slightly odd.

"I jest," Tilma chortled. "but back to the matters at hand, as soon as Kodlak tells you what you've been seeking, you will understand that the Wolf isn't trying to keep you away from Lydia. She's most likely as frustrated as you are with the girls avoidance."

Alex sighed, unsurprised that the humorous servant was in on whatever was going on with her. It seemed everyone was nowadays.. everyone but her, and it was irking her to no end. "She tried to eat her just a few moments ago. I'd say I KNOW the Wolf doesn't want to stay away from Lydia, She wants to devour her as quick as could be managed."

The Imperial couldn't see, but the old servant's small head began to slowly shake in knowing disagreement. "You've got it all scattered, child. Don't think so lowly of your Beast, Her personality is meant to blend harmoniously with yours, assures efficiency in battle. As long as you're unwilling to do something, surely she would be the same. And if you're unwilling to eat Lydia," Tilma paused, a grin splitting her features. Alex already saw it coming the moment the old woman stopped talking. "at least not in THAT sense," Alex buried her pinking face in her arms much to the amusement of the older woman tending to her wound. "then your Wolf will surely not be either."

A few silent beats past between the two, Alex being unwilling to raise her head from the salvation of her arms until the blood receded from her cheeks. Tilma allowed the younger woman her silence while her shaking hands continued to close up the wound. After a few moments when Alex was satisfied with the absence of her blush she lifted her head and asked, "I know you're not going to tell me everything but... can you at least give me a hint of what's going on with me?"

The older Nord thought for a moment, focusing on her work as she contemplated the request. Alex was about ready to drop it when Tilma relented and said, "Alright... but if I give it to you, you need to do something in return."

"Anything,"

The servant smiled at Alex's eagerness. "For Talos' sake talk to the girl, I see the way you look at each other. I see the yearning in your eyes when you look away, the both of you. I can see that you harbor a fancy for her, doesn't matter if you've hidden it so well from the others that you've managed to fool even yourself. And when you were stuck here those two days, Lydia was a mess, poor girl was about ready to barge in herself," Alex was taken aback by her words. "it pains me to see such lovely kids keep themselves away from something with so much potential all because of petulant immaturity."

It took Alex a few moments to come up with a reply, feeling a bit exposed, never mind that she was half naked, with Tilma's perceptive observations. A lot of which she herself wasn't even aware of. "Um.. I'll try.. but my Wolf-"

"Cares deeply for that girl. Just as deeply as you yourself seem unable to register." Tilma gently interjected. Alex was dumbed to silence, astonishment taking over her mouth and depressing it to stillness. Her Wolf CARED for Lydia? "that's all the hint that I am offering, child."

**xx**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

Alex caught herself on the worn wooden railings overlooking the mead hall table. A sloppy, lazy giggle bubbled from her lips as she steadied herself against the wood. It was fortunate for her that the other Companions were long gone at the hour, lost in their own worlds of dreams or already ventured out to complete their tasks. In a way it reminded her of the night Farkas and Aela had lugged her out of the Underforge, only instead of the tender aches that had once dwelt within her muscles, an airy and ultra relaxed hum buzzed through her being.

That gallon of healing potion really did the trick.

"Whoa," Alex crooned to the empty hall, snorted snickers escaping her. The wound was still tender, but it hurt a lot less when the Imperial twisted around. The stitches would be taken out in the evening. But of course, Alex wasn't too concerned about that for her slightly distracted senses were leading her to the most sweetest aroma she'd ever picked up. With loose palms the Imperial sluggishly lifted off the rails and shuffled toward the large hall table. Her steps went in unsteady rhythm across the flooring as she followed her nose to the source of this delicious smell. "it's probably heaven in a bag!" Alex squealed like an excited child, she'd have started clapping in gleeful merriment had she enough control of her arms. They seemed to only listen to her a quarter of the time. After slight difficulty with the stairs the Imperial had managed her clumsy swagger toward one of the chairs around the hall table when her feet were caught on air and her body went plummeting for the large wooden surface. The Imperial's elbows anchored her fall, only her chin hit the surface with such a speed that it would surely be throbbing had the great amounts of health potion in her system not been present. Another release of ridiculously joyful laughter escaped the Imperial's mouth, "gravity... you sneaky fiend!" she giggled to herself.

Then she blinked and sniffed at the air. Her focusless stare settled on a nearby sweetroll snuggled comfortably between plenty of others in one of the many bowls of food upon the hall table. Another blink melted a wry grin across the dazed Imperial's mouth. "Well hello there beautiful," she crooned to the pastry when she confirmed that it indeed was the source of the sweet aroma. Her fingers made a slow walk toward the elegant bowl. "what're you doing out here so late?" she queried slyly, her words dripping the very same haze as that of a drunkard. The impish and sloppy grin smeared about Alex's lips widened when her fingers found purchase upon the pastry. "don't worry," she lifted the divine delicacy to her lips "I'll take care of you baby." and then with a greedy and absolutely shameless bite, a big chunk of the food was melting around in the jovial woman's mouth... a lot of which was smeared across her face.

A deep and amused chuckle rumbled from behind, and Alex turned to the grinning face of one of her best friends. "Am I interrupting something?" Farkas playfully teased, walking over to take a seat in one of the chairs.

Alex grinned, narrowing her eyes in feigned annoyance. "Um yes... yes you are." the Imperial covered the pastry with her hand as if its decency were at risk with Farkas present. "can't you see I'm eating out right now?" the large wolf gave a hardy laugh and leaned up in his chair. Alex brought the sweetroll back to her lips, but this time to whisper, "it's okay baby, he doesn't understand what we have,"

Farkas shook with gleeful laughter, his head gently shaking at his silly friend who shortly joined in his giggling as well. "Should I even ask why you're like this?"

Alex tapped a finger to her chin and pretended to ponder. "No. You can if you want, but I won't give you an answer... long stories aren't fun when I have to tell em' and besides, I wanna finish my sweetroll!" Alex sang at the end before chomping off another chunk.

The large wolf sat back in his seat, grinning at his friend while she devoured the pastry like she'd been starved for weeks. "I'd dare to say that it's mead... but you don't smell of it, and you're eyes aren't red.. and these bottles were here already," he glanced at the empty glasses sprawled across the table. "which means Tilma hasn't been in here to clean yet because she was busy with something and the only time she's busy with something is to buy groceries or cleaning supplies but she only does that in the day, it's four o'clock in the morning which means she was called to tend to something serious and 'something serious' is always silver wounds which means she had to use a lot of health potions to get it fixed and THAT is what has you all faint and fluttery!" the man punctuated his rushed and excited words with a flourish of his voice and a pleased smile as he slapped his knee in triumph. But then his glee dimmed to worry. Silver wound..

The eating Imperial popped the last piece of pastry in her mouth and slapped her hands clean of the sticky crumbs. She shuffled onto the table and sat there with her legs crossed. "Pretty much." she managed to mumbled around her snack before inclining back onto her palms. "don't ask how I got the wound though... too lazy to say ALL of THAT," she made a disgusted face.

Farkas shrugged, deciding she'd tell when the affects wore off. "I won't. I figure if I did I'd be given an outlandish answer." he paused for a moment before something popped up in his memory. "hey do you still have that mammoth tusk I asked you to hold? I finally made enough space for it in my chest."

The Imperial blinked, a slightly sheepish glint began to color her hazed and slightly foggy cerulean orbs. "Uh," she burst into nearly silent nervous laughter. "well... I accidentally can't find it.." Alex sunk her head slowly toward her shoulders, as if the act would make her turn invisible.

Farkas' lips slowly straightened to a hard line, understanding what she'd meant despite the near incomprehensible wording. "What...?" he deadpanned.

Alex merely gave a guilty smile, "Yeah..."

"How do you lose a mammoth tusk? They're this big!" he spread his arms wide in indication.

The Imperial shaped her lips to prepare a sloppy excuse when the front doors whooshed open and two tall pale warriors stepped inside. The way Farkas' once relaxed posture stiffened almost instantly let Alex know what she already did. Her once guilty expression melted into a goofy grin when she watched her other best friend freeze in her spot beside Lydia. "Alex!" Aela exclaimed in surprise. "what are you doing out here," she asked almost panicked, praying to the gods that the Imperial's wolf wouldn't go haywire in Lydia's presence. She should've been in the Underforge... or at least in bed resting.

The health potion seemed to relax more than just her muscles however, for the only reaction displayed was the goofy smile that hadn't budged since the two had entered, "I was eating out!" she sang proudly, like an accomplished five year old, as Farkas quickly rose from his chair in case he'd have to drag away his close companion should her wolf become irate. In spite of the overly mellow posture she was currently displaying.

"Are you okay?" Lydia's confused voice was slightly blanketed with worry. The Imperial didn't look too good, despite the goofy grin that seemed to be permanently plastered to her face. Her cream-stained, sweetroll messy face. In fact, the grin made her all the more concerned. It was completely out of place. Alex's sweat-soaked ebony locks were matted and tangled, even sticking to her forehead in certain places. The clothes she wore were spotted at the collar and back in evidence of her heavy perspiration and her usually clear and crystal azure orbs seemed thick and foggy and distant.

A fierce electricity struck down the Imperial's spine and nearly made her toes twitch from the intensity, but it made everything else shudder.. and she didn't hide it... any of it. The wolves took it as something else however, and Farkas instantly landed a bracing hand upon his companion's knee. "I'm fine," Alex drawled to pretty much everyone. "I'm better than fine... I'm fuckin' great!" Alex leaned to the side so she could look at Aela from around Farka's obstructing shoulder. "did you know Tilma's a perv? Damn funny woman she is,"

"Damn _foolish_ woman,," Aela offered instead, "she knows not to use too much health potion.." she muttered lowly to herself, but Lydia heard it clearly and her confused and worried expression leaned closer toward the latter.

"Health potion? What happened, why would she need health potion?" did something happen after she'd assisted her at Robber's Gorge? Did that werewolf take a swipe at her before it came and slaughtered everyone and nearly Lydia herself? Is that why she didn't stay to help out?

Alex merely shook with thoughtless laughter. "Oh you _know_," she insisted like it was obvious. Which it was... but not to the housecarl. "you got a damn good sword arm, I'll give you that."

"Alex," Aela warned, shining eyes hard on the Imperial from where she stood just behind Lydia, whose brows merely gathered in curious perplexity.

"What are you talk-"

"She's loopy from the potion. Don't take anything she says too seriously. She probably accused Farkas of dealing her wound. Even though it happened _days_ ago," Aela implied to her hazed companion with big eyes that silently told her to play along even if it was pointless trying to get any kind of comprehension from the woman.

"Did it open again or something?" Lydia asked, referring to the supposed wound that Alex had been 'nursing' for days now.

"Oh it opened alright!" Alex bursted shamelessly. Her chest giving more thoughtless peals of trilling and nearly drunken laughter. "all the fucking way, I'd say. Hey Farkas," she grabbed her sleep clothed companion by his sleep shirt. "remind me not to go Wolf in front of her again, okay?"

"What?"

"WHAT?"

Aela palmed her face. "That old woman is going to get it later."

"Alex," Farkas spoke her name like secret code, laughing almost nervously with Lydia's presence now encroaching upon the table they were at. "I don't know what you're talking about," he lied uncomfortably. "you're speaking _nonsense_," he said between nervous teeth.

The Imperial stared at her fidgeting companion until Lydia came to stand beside them, quickly followed by Aela. And then realization struck Alex's loose face. "Oh!" she bursted and her fellow Circle members almost breathed in relief. Until.. "that's right you weren't there! Aela! YOU have to remind me not to turn into a-mmmff"

The huntress clasped a hand against Alex's running mouth and quickly ushered her from the table. "Alex! You shouldn't be up and about with the amount of potion running through you! Hircine's name we have to get you to a bed!"

The Imperial frowned against her friend's hand. "Mmffmfff hmmfffnnmm!"

"Farkas help me get her to our room before she walks into the firepit or something,"

Farkas dared a glance at the utterly perplexed housecarl whose eyes began to blossom little ounces of suspicion and instantly looked away. "Good idea!"

"Hey! Wait, I can help." all three wolves stopped their struggling. Two sets of shining eyes flitted to the standing Nord as she stood in ready to assist despite the worn state of her armor and the exhaustion in her eyes. The Imperial crossed her arms when Aela's hand didn't move, but the thought of Lydia tagging along made her captured lips curve in slight glee.

"That isn't necessary, really.." Farkas said. "we can handle her,"

But the Nord wouldn't have it and she walked up with sure steps until her hands gently gripped Alex's slumped shoulders. The spark that came alive nearly shone in her voice when she said, "Really, I can help..."

XXXX

"Oh man, two beautiful ladies taking me to bed," Alex said with childish glee as she was lowered to her furs by both Lydia and Aela, who each gently nudged her by a shoulder. "shucks it must be my birthday!"

Aela rolled her eyes while Lydia gently shook her head at the goofy Imperial. "That potion Tilma uses must have a real kick..." Lydia muttered absently to herself, her mind replaying Alex's words. _'beautiful ladies'_ A curious warmth stirred in the Nord's gut.

Aela scoffed, "You've no idea." she made to will Alex softly to her back when the Imperial quickly stopped her.

"No no no! Tilma said no laying on the stitches," she hurriedly informed.

The worn huntress sighed, regaining a better grip on her close friend's shoulder. "Right. Lydia, you're going to have to help me flip her to her stomach."

Said woman stilled slightly in confusion. Her brows drew together above her tired eyes and her hands remained unmoving upon Alex's other shoulder. "But isn't her wound on her chest?"

Aela silently chastised herself for letting the Housecarl tag along. Keeping their secret would not be easy with Alex's current mindset. Every second spent with the two in this close proximity would be treading on microscopically thin ice for the huntress. If Alex's Wolf wouldn't ruin things, then the Imperial's currently loose lips definitely would put her in a difficult situation. Damn Alex for insisting that Farkas went to his quarters. Why in Oblivion had he listened to her anyway? She was half out of her mind for Hircine's sake!

Alex began to shake her head when Aela caught Lydia's attention away. "Oh right of course, actually she probably shouldn't lay down for a while... you should just sit there, Alex."

Said Imperial simply blinked. "That's what I'm doing."

"Good. Keep doing it."

After moments of glancing between the two warriors, Lydia accepted that she wouldn't get much out of the two. One because Alex's sense was all but drowned in potion and two because there obviously was something they didn't want her to know about... and if they didn't want her knowing, she would definitely get no answers.

Lydia let out a silent sigh and let her supporting hands slip away from the drugged Imperial's slumped shoulders. Both women showed a slight displeasure at the loss of contact. "I suppose I'll see you in the morning then.." and then she set to leave when Alex's snickering giggle stopped her.

"It's already morning, _silly_."

Lydia forced a small smile to her lips. "Right."

Alex continued undeterred by the unconvincing tone coloring Lydia's voice. "And since it's morning and you said _'see you in the morning'_" she attempted an imitation... and failed. "you don't have to leave!" Alex crooned happily and spread her arms like a grand showcasing.

Another little breath escaped the tired Housecarl this one partially bubbled with a fond laughter. "Oh, I'm sure I've intruded enough practically stealing you away from Farkas and all." she held in the coo fighting against her lips at the sad pout that began to shape Alex's mouth. "besides, I'm exhausted. Need to get some rest... as do you."

The shameless pout never smoothed from Alex's features. "You can steal me away as much as you want." she insisted truthfully, the potion induced haze kept the Imperial from noticing the brief flattery that flashed in Lydia's expression.

"I'll keep that in mind." Lydia promised before making to leave again.

"Hey, Lydia?" The Imperial's voice sounded small compared to the near shouts she'd given previously. Lydia held a hand against the doorframe and glanced over her shoulder at the now bashful Imperial. The Nord's brows gathered slightly in curiosity at the sudden change in demeanor. "you really are coming back in the morning right? No disappearing magic tricks?" the vulnerability distinct in Alex's tone sent slight guilt through Lydia. The Housecarl never heard her show weakness, never seen her face crinkle in despair even when injured. Except that night in Breezehome, just before she shuffled out the door. Before her cries of true agony echoed across the hold and shattered the frozen position Lydia had fell into after the woman's departure. She sounded so vulnerable that night, though much more intensely so than she did now. But despite the very different edge between the two, Lydia found her heart clenching all the same, much like it did that night, and the rest of the two nights after that whenever Alex's pained screams managed past the thick rock walls of the Underforge.

Aela's arms absently crossed about her chest, her red eyebrows gathering as she awaited Lydia's reply to her best friend's thinly veiled, and oddly trusting, plea. _'She better get this question right, or so help me..'_

The tired Nord allowed a small and faintly guilted smile play at her lips as she looked into those lightly glazed azure orbs that smoldered with a looming intensity. "I'll come here as soon as I wake."

"Promise?"

Aela sat beside her best friend, landing her hand behind the woman's shoulder to rub reassuring circles there before her metallic eyes nearly melted Lydia with their warning fire. The Nord swiftly averted her eyes, allowing the Imperial's waiting stare to sooth the heat Aela's own had dealt. "I promise."

And then the brightest smile danced across Alex's lips, someone might as well had given her an entire house full of sweetrolls. Her hazed features brightened immensely and the glee that swirled around in those eyes had Lydia's chest clenching once again, this time for an entirely different reason. Had she really been avoiding the Imperial that long to actually miss her smile this much?

"Great! I'm missing you already."

**xx**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

**I'm not so sure how I feel about this chapter. Review please.**

"uuuuunnnggghhh," Alex dragged her hand across her furs to cup her forehead. The extreme lightness that floated through her skull was nearly unsettling. There was no headache, in fact, there was no ache anywhere across her flesh. Just a feathery air that was magnified by a million. It felt like her insides where absent and her skull was absolutely empty. Part of the Imperial wondered if she was floating in the air right now. The utter buoyancy settled within her almost brought upon a bout of nausea and despite the utter airiness, her limbs felt like lead, moving as if held down by weights whenever Alex stirred. It was with effort that Alex managed to lift her heavy head from her pillow enough for her face to emerge from the material. She held it up for a couple fleeting seconds before collapsing once again with another groan, this one however was muffled by the pillow. A couple of still moments later though, she began to hoist herself as much as she could.

A gentle palm landed upon Alex's upperback, carefully placed so as not to agitate her wound. The bed shifted with Aela's weight. "You should go back to sleep, the side effects should have lessened my the time you wake." she murmured lowly.

Alex released another long groan. "What's wrong with me?" the Imperial drawled sluggishly into her pillow.

"You're coming out of the fog." Aela informed while carefully lifting her best friend's top to the shoulders. The sound of bottled liquid briefly gurgled between the huntress' hands as Alex nuzzled into her pillow. The Imperial jumped slightly at the cool moisture that pressed softly against her stitches, but slowly relaxed when the area gradually warmed as Aela tenderly rubbed the Philter of Health into her best friend's flesh.

"What in Hircine's name is a fog?" Alex asked moodily and earned a quiet smile from her friend, who continued to work in the potion. Much to the Imperial's subdued delight.

"It's what comes after an intense amount of health potion has been in your system. The sensation is unsettling, but it'll pass."

"I thought health potion was supposed to make you feel better. Not weird."

Aela gently chuckled and poured more of the Philter into her palm. The thick liquid slowly spread before she began to rub it in. "Well, too much of a good thing can do that to you... Tilma was a bit excessive with the potion... said you needed to relieve stress. I believe her words were, _'She's not getting laid anytime soon so there weren't many other options on the stress factor'_ or something to that effect." Aela chuckled, her head shaking.

Alex joined her almost immediately. "I really need to spend more time with that woman," she mumbled as she nuzzled a cheek into her pillow, cerulean eyes sliding shut. "a character, that woman is...NGH,"

"Sorry!" Aela's hands flew away from Alex's skin. "did I hit a tender area?"

The Imperial managed a slight shake of her weighted head. "No, that felt fucking _good_," she groaned pleasantly, and after a brief sigh of relief Aela's soothing hands returned to Alex's glistening skin. The red-head's ministrations drew another appreciative moan from the half conscious Imperial. "I can't believe you've never massaged me before."

The slightly suggestive chuckle that rose from above would have had Alex rolling her eyes had she not been absolutely lost in the remains of Tilma's health potion. "Well that's not entirely true." Aela teased mischievous.

Her deft attentions fogged Alex's mind enough to send the 'shut up' forming at the Imperial's lips melting into nothing, leaving only joyful groans in its wake. Aela continued her easy routine, pouring more Philter before rubbing it into her companion's wounds while Alex not so silently enjoyed herself. When the contents of the bottle was sufficiently working to relax Alex's wound, Aela set it aside and walked over to the wardrobe to fish out a towel, drying her hands when she did.

"Mmmm..." Alex hummed contentedly. "your hands are magic.."

Aela chuckled, "I already knew that, but thank you. Now you can stay awake or you can sleep off the side effects. I, however, have a task to attend to. Farkas will be up to check on you when he wakes." she gathered her equipment and headed for the door. When she stood in the doorway, Aela paused and turned back. "oh, and when your head is clear enough, catch me up on that confrontation with the Silver Hand. I'm dying to know."

Alex's eyes slid shut long before the sound of their closing double-doors hit her ears. She laid there for a few moments, relishing in the pleasant warm tingles that feathered the expanse of her back. The relaxing silence in the room eventually seduced the soothed Imperial to a deep slumber.

XXXX

Alex awoke to a still empty room. Aela's furs were still as tidied and untouched as the moment she left for her task. The long weapon rack pushed up against one wall was missing a bow, the one Aela took with her. Alex's leathers were neatly folded upon her end table, her dagger sitting atop it. When the Imperial stirred, she noted the renewed solid feeling in her skull and limbs and body. As well as the uncomfortable chafing of her shirt against her skin. Her face scrunched at the discomfort.

The Imperial remained still for a couple of seconds, gathering the energy to actually hoist herself from the comfort of her bed to change the rough and slightly sticky top Tilma had slid onto her, she hadn't noticed how nasty it felt until now. Alex grunted slightly when she shoved herself from her enticing mattress and walked over to the wardrobe. She tugged the shirt from her torso, assuring her movements didn't upset her wound, and tossed it off to the corner of the room. She toweled her skin of the remaining potion that lingered on her back and hung the cloth over the wardrobe door to search for a fresh top. The coolness of the room stiffened the tips of Alex's exposed breasts, and rose goosebumps all over her flesh. She leafed around for a button up top, thinking to herself that having to wrestle a shirt over her head would be too much hassle. The Imperial's clumsy fingers found the collar of a small blue silk blouse.

With a slightly tensed face, Alex carefully slid it onto her shoulders one by one, her gaze focusing on the familiar design of the room doors in front of her to distract herself from the slight ache in her lower back when she stirred incorrectly. When she managed to shimmy on the soft top, she let the fronts lay on either side of her bare breasts to tidy the collar.

As her fingers ruffled with the silk material, a small gust of air brushed her soft skin and stiffened her nipples even more when the double doors opened and an unsuspecting figure began to step through. Alex gasped, eyes widening to match the beautiful grey saucers in front of her. The saucers that were aimed far lower than her shocked face. Instantly, the Imperial yanked her blouse shut and wheeled around almost too quickly for her still sleep ladened reflexes to absorb while she gave Lydia her blue silken back. The sharp jerk of her stitches barely registered to the surprised Imperial. "Fuck,"

"Oh gods, I am so sorry! Goodness, I should have knocked first, I-I didn't mean to... that was so rude of me I had no idea-"

"It's fine." The sure and slightly amused tone Alex's voice took soothed the flustered Nord fidgeting at her doorstep. "you just surprised me.." Alex herself felt nearly as embarrassed though. And she knew a heavy and utterly awkward cloud would fall on both of them if she didn't say something. Anything, anything to stop it. "usually when you come around I can hear your feet a mile off." the small sigh from the door didn't sound as tense as the Nord's previous noises. Alex worked in the buttons of her blouse up to the chest and turned round when only a peak of her cleavage shown. "I suppose I'm still a bit sleepy." she gave a small grin meant to calm, despite the slight embarrassment that colored her cheeks a gentle pink. Lydia's blush was much more prominent against her paler skin.

"Right." the Nord muttered, gaze still hovering below Alex's face. A certain curiosity swirled in Lydia's stare and it caused an ebony brow to rise in smug upon the Imperial's now wry features. "that would make two of us then.."

"We both had a long night." Alex offered. When Lydia gave a suspicious and slightly questioning nod, she added, "you know... with the potion ordeal and all. And Aela told me about Robber's Gorge... I'm glad you're okay."

"Likewise." Lydia replied. Her pale hand still firmly gripped the door's handle. Alex found that the rhythmic beating of the Nord's enthusiastic heart quelled a bit of her embarrassment and lightened the slightly weighted air around them.

It didn't take long to realize neither women had anything else to say... only questions to ask. Questions that both knew would not be met with truthful answers. But Alex tried one anyway, if not to keep the silent loom at bay then to feed the itching desire to query: "How have you been?" she noticed how ridiculous it sounded when she'd realized how much she really didn't know the answer to that question. They lived under the same boat for Talos' sake. But with Lydia's efforts it seemed like they'd lived in two different holds.

Lydia shrugged after a moment, her stare finally breaking from the Imperial's peaking chest. "I've had better days."

Alex nodded and tousled her hair around in nervous habit, the steady beat in Lydia's chest skipped. "Likewise." she replied. Loaded silence began to seep through the atmosphere again and would have permeated their flesh had Alex's well timed hunger not sent her stomach rumbling. The Imperial sheepishly cupped her toned stomach as she saw a slight amusement glow in Lydia's tense expression.

"Care to join me for breakfast?"

Alex's once again crystal orbs popped wide in slight shock. Did Lydia just ask her to breakfast? Together? Which meant they'd spend _time_ together? In the same room... inches away?

"Uh... yeah!" Lydia gave a small chuckle and released the door to start for the hall. Alex winced a little when Lydia's figure disappeared. _'Too eager. Sounded too damn eager.'_

XXXX

"Wow. When you say breakfast you really go all out." Alex said while she took in the various plates Saadia set down on their corner table. Steaks and soups and vegetables arrayed each dish with a certain elegance that made the Imperial's stomach churn in great hunger. She felt her mouth watering as the deliciously blending aromas stroked her nostrils in the most enticing of ways. _'Gods I'm going to tear you up.'_

Lydia's brows rose and her lips smiled as she observed the clear eagerness in Alex's shining gaze; it reminded her of an excited puppy. "I presumed since we had quite a difficult evening we could at least make it up with a pleasant morning."

"Amen to that." Alex muttered absently with the goofy grin still painted on her face. She thanked Saadia for her services and didn't hesitate to dive into her meal. Lydia watched briefly as Alex stabbed a string bean with her fork and lifted it to her mouth before sending her fork back down for more. The woman ate with eager enthusiasm, slight hums left her throat as she chewed and swallowed and her movements seemed loosely coordinated, a certain grace flowed in her maneuvers even as she ate with little to no patience. Especially with her speed. And despite how nearly careless she seemed in her hunger, her mouth remained shut as she chewed, her tongue neatly cleaned off the food that missed her lips, and no distasteful smacking escaped her teeth. Alex's gleeful eyes rose from her meal with wonder as they landed on Lydia, who hadn't picked up her fork yet. Alex swallowed down the soup in her mouth and asked out of consideration, "I'm sorry, am I making you feel uneasy?"

Lydia blinked, her mouth falling from the smile it had been in and instead fell slightly open to ask, "What?" what was going on?

Alex grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth in case there was something her tongue had missed, a slightly guilty look seeped into her features "You're not eating. Am I grossing you out?"

Realization hit the once unknowingly grinning housecarl as she took in the sheepish tinge in Alex's expression. Lydia set to quell the Imperial's discomfort immediately. "Oh no I wasn't-"

"I'm so sorry I'm being so rude I must look like a real horker right now, jeez I probably seem like I haven't any kind of etiquette."

"Alex." A curious sensation sparked through the Imperial with the way she said her name. Lydia rested a warm hand on Alex's forearm, the electricity that zipped about her skin made her fingers twitch a little. When their eyes met again, Alex stared with an inquisitive air. Was she not the only one that felt that all this time? After a moment's pause, Lydia retracted her arm and shifted her gaze down before looking back to Alex with her fingers threaded together before her untouched plate. "you needn't trouble yourself. I was," A pause. "merely lost in the song." she claimed and pointed her chin toward Mikael, who was strumming out another melody that Lydia knew absolutely nothing of. "and your etiquette is quite alright... for someone who seems starved."

Alex rose an eyebrow. "I'll assume that's a compliment."

Lydia chuckled. "It is. I must say though, I didn't take you for the kind that worries over people's opinions."

"I don't." Alex said with heavy conviction. "I could give less shit for what people think of me, just the important ones." Lydia blinked, then so did Alex. _'Well shit...'_ that didn't come out like she expected. Had she just implied that Lydia was important to her? _'yes... you fucking did you babbling fool, make it right before you make shit even more awkward for her.'_

Alex cleared her throat. "I mean like people I care about... Farkas and Aela for example." the Imperial cringed a little at the small hurt that flashed within Lydia's eyes. Alex inwardly sighed._ 'Yeah you really shouldn't have said anything.'_ and so she stuffed her mouth with as much food as she could to keep her traitorous tongue from saying anything else that could make this morning even more difficult. Bonds were strained enough between the two, Alex could practically feel the ice cracking beneath her feet with every misguided phrase she let loose and a tight anxiety bunched in her at the thought of scaring Lydia off again.

The women busied themselves with eating in substitute for the clumsy conversations they seemed to always fall into. They sat in relative silence save for Mikael's constant song and the general bustle of The Bannered Mare. Alex couldn't shake the last of their conversation from her mind as she silently ate. Her thoughts not letting go of how much better she could have worded herself and how much lighter the air around the two would be if she'd just said her piece _right_. She really didn't care what people thought, only the important ones, as she said. But there were so many better ways to say it she wanted to slap herself in the forehead for picking the stupidest one.

_'_I don't care about strangers, so why should I care about what they say about me, _would've been better than that clumsy mess. Now you've gone and made her feel bad... you ass.' _

Growing up as a lesbian in a non-lesbian friendly community helped her with her self assurance back in Cyrodiil. Every jab from past classmates, people off the street, or even from her own parents thickened her skin enough. But the slander that came from her family always stung the most._ 'only the important ones...'_ and running away to Skyrim, seemingly the heart of all that is prejudice as an Imperial lesbian put her self respect to the test. But she remained true to her word, uncaring of the opinions of those that didn't matter to her. Alex remained silent as she gazed shortly at Lydia, whose attention was on her own meal. Alex released a short sigh, her stare never straying from the distracted Nord just across from her. She would never lose sleep over insignificant individuals. _'only the important ones.'_

**xx**

**Finally they talk once again, and this time without hassle!... well... nothing too serious anyway. Please leave a review, any specific scene you liked in the chapter? If so, what was so great about it? Any specific scene you _didn't_ like in the chapter? If so, what was so crap about it? Are you enjoying the little interactions between Alex and Lydia? And Tilma... she's one crazy lady ain't she? (Random, I know.)**


	17. Chapter 17

_****_**Hope you enjoy this chapter, I like it. **

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

_***Burp***_

Lydia pressed a closed hand to her lips and gazed sheepishly at a softly grinning Alex. "Excuse me." she mumbled sheepishly and reached for her cup of snowberry tea.

"Classy." Alex couldn't help but tease as she set her utensils down on her empty plate. Mikael's voice continued to drift from across the tavern by the firepit. Lydia's grey orbs rose to meet Alex's teasing gaze as she sipped from her warm cup. The Nord's shaped brows gathered in a small frown, when Lydia lowered her cup though, she was grinning.

"You're one to talk." she returned lightly as she relaxed into her seat.

Alex released a small chuckle, reaching up to comb some stray strands from her eyes. Something flickered in the Nord's attentive hues too quick for Alex to catch. "I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon, give me credit. At least I managed to keep my face clean." Lydia couldn't argue with that. The little glances she'd stolen every now and again almost always graced her with the sight of that pink tongue cleaning something off the corner of Alex's mouth. It always took one lick to leave the area clean. Something stirred in Lydia's gut. _'One lick.' _she shook her head a little. _'get it together.' _

Lydia gave a smile in hopes that Alex hadn't noticed the brief movement. "Of course. I suppose you do deserve a little credit." the Imperial had noticed nonetheless. Lydia could see it from the curiosity painted upon her charming features, that woman was too perceptive for her own good.

She didn't comment on it though, something Lydia was thankful for. "Thank you again for breakfast." she started, neither noticing, nor caring when Mikael's voice and lute had stopped strumming a chorus of music across the tavern. "it was delicious."

A pale hand waved off Alex's formal appreciation. "Don't mention it. It was no problem whatsoever."

Alex flashed a grateful grin and leaned up in her seat, resting her forearms on the edges of their table. "And I'm sorry about earlier." she watched as Lydia's piercing eyes took a sheepish edge and shifted off to the side, a light coat of pink shaded her cheeks in a most endearing way. Alex believed her Wolf had begun to stir when something shifted in her chest, but after a very brief moment of utter panic she found it was only her heart skipping. The moment of relief was quickly snuffed by confusion, however.

"I should be the one apologizing to you." Lydia insisted. "I should have knocked instead of barging in like that. It was rude of me." her grey orbs returned to the Imperial's smooth chest that still peaked from her blue silk blouse, untouched, unblemished. Just aged and faded scars from past battles, but they didn't take away from the beauty. Alex didn't catch the brief gathering of the Nord's brows and the short flash of curious suspicion before she took her gaze from Alex's cleavage altogether.

Lydia's embarrassed voice brought Alex from her pondering. She returned her gaze to Lydia's and put on a smile. One that wasn't forced. None of them had been forced this entire morning now that she thought of it. "I guess it is your blame." Alex teased lightheartedly with an impish smile. "damn Lydia, you're rude!"

The Nord's mouth fell in slight offense, and Alex couldn't help the laugh that burst from her mouth at the comical expression. "I didn't think you'd be able to answer the door. How was I supposed to know you'd be half naked on the other side?"

Alex had been preparing to assure the slightly disgruntled Nord of her teasing when a smug voice butted in, "Well well, this surely sounds like a conversation I'd quite enjoy." both women stared at their intruder with confused gazes. Mikael grinned cheekily as he leaned his hands on their table, the neck of his lute stuck up behind his gold head from where he'd strapped it to his back. His eyes shifted between the two of them before finally settling insistently on Lydia. "what are you beautiful ladies discussing, hm?"

Alex knew the shifting that stirred in her chest was definitely _not_ her heart this time. "I don't believe it's any of your business." she replied crossly. She wasn't usually unwelcoming to people. She was actually a really friendly individual, but something about the way he stared just rubbed Alex in the most uncomfortable of ways. Perhaps it was the constant threat of his confident gaze turning into a sickeningly lustful leer. And he knew, from past failures to woo her, that Alex wasn't interested in men. That only left Lydia, and for curious reasons it irked her nerves to no end. Alex began to feel her Wolf raise from her curled sleep in the Imperial's mind Her emotions just as unwelcoming as Alex's.

Mikael's fazeless gaze shortly caught Alex's. "Oh don't be that way, I'm merely trying to make conversation." he turned back to Lydia. "you know... make friends.." he waggled his brows to punctuate his implication. Something Lydia didn't respond well to considering the twist that her beautiful features took on.

Like a prowling predator Alex's Beast bristled slightly. She could feel Her eyes burning holes in the bard's skull as he grinned sickeningly at Lydia. The Imperial's fingers slowly tightened against the table's edge as her gaze slowly hardened into a blossoming glare. "By interrupting our private conversation?" Alex asked sharply. Lydia's grey orbs glanced at Alex for a moment, before returning to glare at Mikael as well.

He remained unfazed. "How else was I supposed to... _insert_ myself, hm?" Alex muffled her building growl with an incredulous scoff. How did he ever get a woman in bed with that poor display of 'wit'?

Lydia couldn't hold back a scoff of her own as her glare deepened at the cocky bard's shameless provocations. "Doing nothing at all would've done plenty." she replied tersely.

Mikael's irking grin only widened at Lydia's fire. "Prefer to do all the work, do you? A refreshing change, most women would prefer to just enjoy the pleasures. You'd make a perfect bed partner."

Alex couldn't refrain the growl that woke this time. Her chest burst into angered rumbles that forced both Mikael and Lydia's curious gazes to snap toward her. She shut her eyes, clutching the table as she forced a false cough from her throat to cover up her outburst. She was tempted to scold her Wolf, but that's when she realized the growl was all her doing. "Sorry." Alex mumbled through gritted teeth.

Mikael brushed it off quickly, simply shrugging before returning his heated gaze to Lydia, whose concerned hues never left Alex as she silently battled with the following waves of inhuman snarls that were biting at her throat. "Now what were we talking about? Oh yeah, so what do you say beautiful, would you like to join me for a bite to eat?"

Lydia's soft concern for the Imperial across from her shattered into irritated incredulity. "Can you not see that we've already eaten, you idiotic fool?" something jumped in Alex's gut, a certain satisfaction whose source was unknown to her. Cerulean orbs emerged once again from beneath the Imperial's lids as she fixed her glare back onto Mikael's now chuckling form.

"Such, fire... I like that in a woman."

"Step away, bard." Alex warned darkly, her Beast's soft growling sent her mind vibrating with the familiar thrum, Her massive head hung low, amber eyes glaring dangerously at the rude interruption that stared them both in the face with an uncaring smirk. "my patience with you is growing thin."

Lydia's brows nearly disappeared in her hairline. Alex sounded threatening. Alex; the friendly and playful Imperial who even to the most frustrating of bandits had never shown a glimmer of vocal hostility. Always letting her actions show just how irked she was in battle. Lydia had witnessed it many times on tasks together. The Imperial always shown a confounding amount of patience for the idiots they'd encountered on their travels. The only exception to that patience had been to Lydia herself which spurred a brief splash of guilt before a reluctant understanding took over. She _did_ give Alex a hard time, and despite how heated their encounters had become, Alex always returned the next day with a bright, if not sarcastic, smile. And to hear such an unwelcome fury, no matter how buried under counterfeit calmness, come from the Imperial now was as easy to take in as the thought of flying horkers. Only the possible sight of flying horkers didn't light a curious feather of heat at the very bottom of her abdomen. The fierce danger that flashed in the Imperial's eyes... it had Lydia shaking her head to reclaim control of her senses.

Mikael remained ignorant to the apparent danger he was in, never mind the fact that both warriors could easily break him with a twiddle of their thumbs without provocation had they wished to. "What? Are you envious of your beautiful friend, here? Too late, I tried to offer my courtship. You should have acted faster." a sudden anger lit in Lydia's shining grey orbs as Mikael spoke, his disrespect and shameless brashness cutting at the thin threads of her patience. Lydia fixed to chew him out herself when he made the mistake of throwing his arm over her shoulder. "my interest is now in your–"

The bard wasn't given the chance to finish, for both Beast and Imperial jumped up at the physical intrusion. Alex released a beastly snarl at the same time as her Wolf as she practically jumped from her seat, her hand quickly finding and twisting Mikael's wrist behind his luted back. He yelped a pathetic squeak before his cheek was roughly shoved into the wooden table, the force was great enough to break the plates that happened to be just under him.

"Alex!"

"You don't fucking touch her!" Alex hissed threateningly in his ear, too low for Lydia to hear. Her arms were not her own and neither was her words... not entirely, for her Wolf was slightly woken now, and She wasn't happy. Neither was Alex. "only I can touch her you hear me?" she seethed as a familiar irritation started up in her irises, her hands clutched tighter upon his wrist and hair, eliciting a pitiful whimper from his lips. Alex's back arched with her Beast's building efforts to be set free, begging her to let Her have a bite out of him. Just one.

A cool and electric grasp on Alex's arms splashed much needed water upon her curious fury. The following breath that feathered her ear had the Imperial's eyes fluttering. "Alex, let him go. We're causing a scene." Lydia pleaded, her voice soft and gentle. As if talking someone off the edge of a tower, like death could be the outcome if she didn't handle the situation correctly. And the way she saw the Imperial's tensed hands twist Mikael's gold locks unpleasantly gave her the impression that death just might be the outcome. "wait for me outside, I'll pay for the meal and be right out, okay?"

Alex's grip worsened, Mikael's whimper announced it loudly for the audience of people watching a great distance away. "Not with him still in here." what was going on? Alex didn't dare look back for she knew her eyes would burn a brilliant amber right now, her lack of control over whatever this was kept her from loosening her grips even the slightest. "_definitely_ not with him still in here." her voice was deeper, more dangerous, almost murderous. Why did it warm Lydia's gut so feverishly?

The housecarl took a deep breath, calming her inappropriate emotion enough for it not to show in her voice, "He won't do anything, Alex. Let him go " the Imperial shivered; her name, gods she loved to hear her name. Caressed and threaded entirely by that entrancing voice, especially when it was whispered so softly against her skin. Alex crushed her eyes shut.

"I can't." she only allowed her eyes release when she was sure they were back to normal. Then she turned her head, her eyes connecting desperately with Lydia's, silently pleading for the Nord to understand. Her fingers would not budge, the anger in her gut did not die, and the overwhelming urge to take a chunk clean out of Mikael's throat was almost painful to resist right now. And her mind, how it vibrated with her Wolf's fury. Alex couldn't move. And she was trying desperately to keep from shattering this man's wrist. Only Lydia's calming skin upon her own helped keep her fingers from closing those few inches around Mikael's flesh. Snapping his bones.

Lydia's eyes, no matter how confused, shined with hesitant understanding. She slowly trailed a hand down Alex's arm, watching as the Imperial's panicked eyes fluttered under her lashes, but didn't stray from her own nonetheless. Lydia only stilled her descent when she reached Alex's stiff hands, running a comforting thumb across the smooth surface and once again sending the Imperial's eyes aflutter. Lydia wiggled her fingertips underneath Alex's solid grip and earned a sudden clutch from the hand as it closed ever harder around the helpless bard's flesh. Mikael screamed painfully, his voice nearly sounding like whines. "Alex, stop." Lydia pleaded, her voice edged with growing anxiety as she watched the desperation coloring the Imperial's orbs become nearly devoured with a rage that wasn't her own. "please."

Alex blinked. The anger slowly receding to a silent roiling. A struggle Alex desperately tried to win. Lydia gently pried her clutch from Mikael's wrist, her eyes never releasing Alex's for even a second as they silently pleaded for her control over the obvious struggle she seemed to be dealing with. "Let's just go." Lydia urged, reaching back to retrieve her coinpurse and drop the entire pouch on the table without once looking away from the Imperial's struggling stare. Lydia removed Alex's other hand with haste and didn't once release them until they were out of the tavern, only yelling an apology to the occupants inside as they left. Lydia led Alex down the stairs, through the market center and past the Drunken Huntsman. She wasted no time fishing her key from her pocket and unlocking the door to Breezehome. Lydia tossed her key on the corner table and sat Alex in the chair, finally releasing her hands and leaving behind an utter cold upon both their palms.

Lydia knelt in front of her for she wouldn't raise her gaze too far from the ground. "Are you okay?" she asked concerned. She didn't get a response, nor did Alex lift her head. The Nord used a finger to lift Alex's chin until those gems finally connected with her worried stare. But as soon as they did, Lydia wished they hadn't. Guilt and shame and utter disgust riddled Alex's usually happy gaze. She looked nearly mad, absolutely lost in her distaste and confusion with herself. "hey. Don't look so down."

Alex blinked, a quarter of her earlier fury slowly seeping into her confused and ever heartbreaking stare. "Don't look so down? I nearly hurt that fool! He's a rude and idiotic womanizing skeever but damn it he didn't deserve that! I'm a fucking idiot, I don't even know what came over me!" _'I have an __idea, though.' _she thought on silently, accusations stabbing at her Wolf who only rumbled a scoff and went back to rest.

"Exactly; you _don't _know what happened. You're not at fault."

"Bullshit!" Lydia was reminded of the last time they were here, how Alex had uttered that same word with demanding conviction. Her eyes were so full of fire then, like they were now. And like before, they stoked a hunger in her gut, and both times it had been absolutely inappropriate. "I nearly broke his fucking wrist! Me, _I_ nearly did–"

"_Nearly_." Lydia emphasized. "but you didn't, don't be so harsh with yourself. Things could have been worse." Alex shut her eyes, shaking her head stubbornly as she mentally scolded her Wolf with endless strings of curses, not needing the pause for air she would require had she been yelling it aloud. Sensing the Imperial's inner turmoil, Lydia firmly grasped Alex's soft cheeks in her palms. "_hey_" she demanded, voice thick and unwaveringly strong. Cerulean eyes reluctantly ducked out from beneath hesitant lids and looked into deeply penetrating grey orbs of conviction. "you _stop_ that _now_." Lydia forcefully commanded, but an ounce of gentleness was hidden in her tone, wrapped around with the prominent anger it emitted. "you let him go. He's still alive and he will surely be back up and hitting on any living thing with breasts in less than a week. You have _no _reason to be so glum, you hear me?"

They fell silent. Alex unwilling to accept the Nord's words and Lydia waiting for Alex to respond. They sat, silent and unmoving. No words nor gestures exchanged. Only the fierce lock their eyes held as Lydia's conviction lingered in the thick air around them. Alex concentrated only on the cool touch against her cheeks and the endless depth of Lydia's bewitching stare. Her mind fell silent, the guilt and disgust roiling to nothing as she lost herself in the pools of salvation before her. She'd forgotten how light she felt when Lydia looked at her. How easy it was to breath. Both women failed to notice the swiftly shrinking proximity between them until their unsteady breath fanned across each others flesh. Alex covered Lydia's wrists with her palms, handling them as if they'd shatter into pieces if handled wrong; a stark contrast from how they'd been used just a while ago.

"Lydia," Alex whispered, nearly silent as her forehead pressed against Lydia's own.

"Shut up." she whispered back and leaned in further.

Just as their lips brushed ever so lightly, a hurried knock exploded against the door leaving both women to jump at the harsh sound that ripped across their tender atmosphere.

"Lydia! Is Alex there? I can't find her anywhere!"

The disgruntled Imperial's shocked features slowly slid into dangerous irritation as she glared daggers into the front door and the man on the other side.

_'Farkas, I am going to murder you.'_

__**xx **

**Much love to those who reviewed, it made me smile :) I appreciate it very much! And I know, I know; I'm evil... XD**


	18. Chapter 18

**I typed this up right after posting chapter 17. Long story short I got eager... heh. I tend to do that. Reviews are always welcome, leave your opinion. I _really _would like to know if I jumped the gun a little in the end, I feel like I did but at the same time I kinda like it.**

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

Farkas had a reputation for bad timing; ask a stupid question in a serious situation, give a small comment where it was absolutely inappropriate, slam on a Dragonborn's front door just before his housecarl and his best friend were about to kiss...

He proved too worthy of his name.

Lydia's hands dropped to Alex's shoulders in her haste, her head snapping toward the door as Farkas continued knocking more desperately than before. "Alex are you there?" more knocking. Why in Talos' name was he so damn excitable anyway? So she wasn't in her room, big deal. "I heard what you did to Mikael," of course...

Lydia slowly rose from her spot on the ground, Alex couldn't help the nostalgia that broke through when the Nord removed her electric touch from her rigid shoulders. Lydia straightened herself to answer the man but Farkas hadn't stopped his endless assault on her Thane's door and frankly, it was irking Alex to no end. A small growl nearly escaped her lips but she flushed it out by shouting, "It's open!" with a bit too much ire. A small shudder shook Lydia's spine, a small guilt sneaked into Alex's being at possibly upsetting her, and she made to apologize just when the Nord's eyes peaked out from beneath the stray strands of ebony silk that had fallen into her face. The typically bright and nearly translucent hue of Lydia's grey pools were a couple shades darker and roiled with a certain depth that seemed oddly familiar to Alex, but she couldn't pin down from where exactly she remembered it from.

Farkas burst through the door like a man gone mad and caught sight of Alex almost immediately after first glancing at Lydia for any signs of struggle between the two. "Alex! Did you..." his thought up questions died on his tongue the minute he saw the near murderous gleam that reflected in his best friend's oceanic eyes. "oh...uh" his gaze shied from the unwelcoming one of his friend and instead settled on Lydia's, whose stare was not much different as the previous.. maybe a little less murderous and a little more utterly irritated "um... did I interrupt something?"

Alex gave a scoff. _'What gave it away?'_

"What do you want?" the Imperial demanded impatiently.

Farkas lifted his hands as a sign of surrender, appraising his best friend warily, "I was just checking on you, is all. Tilma wanted to–" the tall wolf's shining eyes popped wide open, his mouth falling lax as well as his sight zeroed in on the exposed skin that gave only the slightest of cleavage from the opening of his best friend's blouse.

The Imperial turned wary under her companion's uncomfortable stare, she crossed her arms when she realized his sight wasn't shifting anywhere else. Lydia cleared her throat, her own arms crossed in slight agitation as she watched Farkas practically ogle the Imperial right in front of her. "What are you doing?" Lydia demanded tersely, her eyes flashing protectiveness as she stepped closer to the disgruntled Imperial.

Farkas snapped out of his frozen state and, as if some jolt had struck through him, moved quickly over to Alex and lifted her gently by the shoulders from her seat. "Uh, you're bleeding we have to go changer your..." he spared a glance at the confused housecarl beside him. "we need to go, let's go Al,"

"Farkas what are you–" but Alex was quickly tugged toward the door, indeed she was bleeding, it soaked through her shirt, and smeared all over the back of the Dragonborn's chair. But Farkas' haste wasn't born from consideration for the Dovakiin's furniture.

"Where are you going?" Lydia called, catching the front door on its backswing.

"We're going to the Underforge... uh, don't wait up!" Farkas yelled over his shoulder as he ushered Alex across Whiterun. He walked behind her, pushing her forward by the shoulders to obstruct the view of the small stain darkening her clothes. But it didn't matter how well he hid the stain for there was already a large spot on the Dragonborn's chair. When they were far enough away from Breezehome, Farkas leaned in close to the struggling Imperial's ear. "what the fuck, Al!" he demanded lowly.

"What the fuck what? What in Oblivion are you doing!" she asked aloud, rendering his hushed words pointless.

Farkas stole a glance over his shoulder to make sure Lydia hadn't heard and saw disgruntled suspicion staring back at him in the form of grey eyes. He smiled sheepish and turned back to Alex and whispered, "Keep it down! Why in Talos' name are your breasts out?"

"Why do you fucking care, mom? Damn, let me go!" she demanded, still slightly lost in the curious hostility that radiated from her Wolf within. It had nearly rested completely, but Farkas' interruption only angered it more.

"No we need to restitch you, icebrain!" the Imperial's response was a defiant snarl that caught a passing child's attention. He stopped to appraise the two warriors curiously.

Farkas painted an unconvincing smile on his anxious face, "Heh, allergies... she can't go anywhere without her throat closing," the child seemed pleased enough and wished Alex to get better before running off to rejoin his friends. Farkas leaned back in when the two had reached the stairs to the Wind District. "Lydia saw your fucking chest, Alex,"

"So?" she barked as she was practically shoved up the long flight of stares to curious passerby's headed the opposite direction.

"You're supposed to have a stitched up wound there, genius!"

Alex's struggling ceased instantly, realization hitting her like a giant's club. "Oh shit..." she felt like a real asshole, resisting Farkas' help when he'd only been trying to assist.

"Yeah.." he replied almost snarkishly. "and now she's probably looking at the chair you were sitting in wondering why in Oblivion you're bleeding from your _back _and not your apparently unscathed _chest_."

"That's why you were staring?" Alex wondered.

"Duhh! Why did you think I was staring? I've seen you naked, Al. A glimpse of the real thing isn't something I'd go crazy over. And I respect you too much to do something like that."

The Imperial huffed, too lost in the still mysterious agitation to feel any trace of flattery at her close companion's words. "I sat with her all morning.." she informed, replaying all the times she'd witnessed Lydia stealing a glance down south every now and again. She'd assumed it was to ogle, but apparently the curiosity that lingered in the housecarl's grey pools were of a different source. "why didn't she say anything?" she wondered aloud.

"Doesn't matter. Now Vilkas has to think up something else to keep Lydia from finding out about us.. damn, Al... you fucked up bad." he absently commented as he ushered her up the stairs to Jorrvaskr.

Alex rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she climbed the stone steps at her own will now. "I know."

"Like _really_ fucked up. Like even Kodlak would probably smack you in the forehead when he finds out. Like even _I _wouldn't fuck up this ba–"

"Okay! Thanks, I get it, jeez." she grumbled and stomped up the last few steps with quickened haste to the Underforge.

XXXX

"Yeah, you really stepped in it this, time child. Even _Farkas_ wouldn't muck it up this bad," Tilma commented when the built wolf had informed her of what happened. Alex only huffed, sending some stray locks into flight. Her body language screamed put off embarrassment and utter disappointment in herself.

"Thanks... I had no idea.." Alex grumbled sarcastically as she was led deeper into the Underforge and around a small corner to the recovery area. Tilma chuckled and instructed her to remove her blouse. Farkas excused himself and disappeared behind the cave wall, possibly to seek out his brother and inform him of Alex's slip up and seek explanations to prepare for later.

"Apologies, but damn woman you really–"

"Alright!" Alex interrupted childishly as she undid the pearl buttons on her blouse shrugging off the article and tossing it into a nearby chair. "thank you Tilma, thanks so much, can you please fix me now?"

"I jest!" the servant chuckled as she retrieved the required materials while Alex climbed onto the stone operation table, settling down on her stomach and resting her chin petulantly on her folded arms. "jeez, can children these days take jokes?" Alex rolled her eyes and merely stayed silent, partly because she was well aware of how rude she was being. But she had good reason to be. _'You can only take _"I told you so" _so many times..'_

"I'm sorry." she grumbled for her behavior and only earned a chuckle in return.

"Hush child, you're upset right now, I understand," Alex winced against the odd sting that came with the removal of the snagged stitches from her tender wound. "I must apologize for my insensitivity, however. No one likes to be called out on their mistakes so rashly and I apologize for that."

Alex sighed, "It's fine."

"So," Tilma started. "on a different note, how was your date?"

Tilma noticed the Imperial hadn't jolted or stiffened anymore, and a small smile found purchase on her aged features. "It started out fine..."

"Started?" Tilma prompted as she cleaned some surfacing blood to begin stitching Alex back together. The wound was healing nicely, but the altercation with Mikael must have dislodged the twine.

"Yeah..." Alex answered. "I went with her to breakfast, we ate, we joked around, we had a couple laughs, that idiot bard interrupted us and it all went downhill from there."

Tilma humphed slightly. "Mikael? I never liked that boy, gods bless his soul, but he can be so brash," Alex grunted her agreement. "what happened?"

"He hit on Lydia and I told him to leave and he didn't listen then he _touched_ her and I got so angry..." Alex could feel some remnants of her earlier rage just at the memory of his filthy appendage coming anywhere near Lydia. "I don't know why but I was on my feet before I could even think and I was crushing his face into the table and had his wrist in my hand... I told him only I could touch Lydia..." Alex's face scrunched. "does that have to do with the Wolf at all?"

After a moment's hesitation Tilma gave a, "Mm-hm." but nothing more.

Alex shrugged it off, having grown accustom to the silence that always befell her companions every time she brought up anything about the cause of her Wolf's actions. "Well I couldn't, for the life of me let him go. Lydia had to pry my fingers off of him before I broke his arm or crushed his skull. She paid for the meal and dragged me–"

"Wait, wait, _she _paid for the meal? And here I thought you wore the trousers.."

"Tilma.."

"Right, sorry."

Alex sighed and continued. "Well we ended up in Breezehome and I was beating myself up over what happened with Mikael. Lydia comforted me and we were about to kiss when Farkas bashed on the door." the Imperial blew a heavy sigh from her mouth and winced against the sting of the stitches.

"Hm..." Tilma hummed as she worked. "what a cock-block.."

"That's what I'm saying!"

Tilma clicked her teeth and shook her head while she worked, a comfortable silence falling over the two as she stitched Alex back together. After a moment, though: "Well, it seems the two of you are at least making some kind of progress. There's the upside to this mess." she offered.

Alex blinked. "I guess." but the negatives outweighed the positives so greatly. They almost kissed, who's to say that Lydia wouldn't freak out and deny that too? Who's to say she wouldn't pull another disappearing act and fall off the face of Skyrim? But she said no more magic tricks... but had she only meant that for this morning? And the lies Alex would have to tell to keep their secret... how long would they shield Lydia from the truth? And who's to say she hadn't already figured something out? Alex shook her head. _'Of course she's figured something out... the woman's not an idiot.' _Alex dropped her head heavily on her folded arms. "Tilma... you got anymore of that potion?"

XXXX

"Hey, you going to join us or are you just going to lay there and be boring all night?" Aela inquired from their room door. She was clad in regular clothes, her bow and quiver hung up on the long weapon rack against their room wall. The only weapon on her was strapped to her leg. She was caught up on everything that transpired that morning, by that time Tilma had already removed the stitches, lightly complaining about fixing them up just hours before. They hadn't gotten to the events that happened the night before though for both were caught up on discussing how absolutely poor Farkas' timing was.

Alex turned her head, "Do I have to dress up?"

"No..." Aela took in the faded linens Alex wore. "you'd probably have to change... but it doesn't have to be too flashy."

After a moment's pondering the Imperial shrugged and slid out of bed, tugging her shirt off and tossing it. Aela beamed brilliantly. "Alright party with the resident Imperial, woo!" said Imperial rolled her eyes and grinned as she shimmied off her loose trousers and fished out a simple midriff top and shorts. It was a normal party, it wasn't some formal ceremony. Alex scooped her hair from beneath her collar and tousled it from her eyes. It fell messily into an asymmetric heap on her head. "the scruffy look suits you, friend." Aela complimented with a grin and tugged her toward the ground floor.

When they broached the doors to the mead hall it was clear that the party had already started. A lute strummed loud and excitedly throughout the walls and the voice that accompanied it pulled roughly at Alex's throat; particularly the part that blocked the low growls from escaping. Aela rubbed Alex's healed back comfortingly. "He's the only bard in town aside from Jon Battle-born. And you know how things are between his and Vignar's families."

Alex sighed as they climbed the steps, immediately graced with gleefully dancing companions, some non-companions, scattered messily about the mead hall. Some were already stumbling every now and again clutching bottles of mead in their loose fingers as they laughed and sung along to Mikael's songs joyously. The bard's smiling eyes caught with Alex's and widened at the threat still embedded in them. He quickly looked away and focused more intensely on the peaking cleavage of a nearby woman. Aela laughed out loud, grabbing Alex by the hand and tugging her toward the bench by the front doors where Farkas was already tapping his foot to the music holding a fresh mead in his hand.

"Don't scare away the human entertainment, Al." the red head teased as they walked. "if he leaves it'll just be any other night."

Alex huffed playfully and conceded, taking a seat by her larger best friend and playfully landing a hard punch on his arm. After wincing slightly, Farkas grinned, "Ali!" he practically cheered before engulfing her in a one-armed bear hug and gave Aela a fist bump. "are you still mad at me about earlier?" he asked over the loud party bustle around them.

Alex smiled and shook her head, stealing the bottle from his hand that was surprisingly still heavy and throwing back a greedy sip. "Nah, I came to the conclusion that I'd probably end up rushing out in a hurry when Lydia found out I was bleeding from my back." Farkas' huge grin brightened, Alex found herself chuckling. "besides, I can't stay mad at you for too long. You're my bro-bro, brother bear, brother baby, bro-sky, bromma momma, bro...bee...broster..." Alex bumbled off at the end, her features twisting comically as she ran out of nicknames. Farkas and Aela both laughed at the Imperial's antics, both holding freshly opened mead that Aela had retrieved.

"That's good to hear," Farkas yelled loud enough to be heard, and then lifted his bottle up, "to the companions!" he toasted.

"To the companions!" Aela and Alex synchronized and touched their bottles with Farkas' before throwing back long gulps of it.

The three of them had mostly kept to themselves, teasing and playing and joking around in their own little area on the bench. Sometimes Aela and Alex would get up to dance, or Aela and Farkas, or all three. The others were lost in their activities as well, rowdy shouts and random cheers exploded all across the hall as the party-goers traveled happily on their steady journey to sense deafening drunkenness and the inevitable hangovers they'd surely be nursing in the morning. In no time at all more and more people began stumbling across the hall, their words making as much sense as their grunts and their grins absolutely distant. Even Vilkas; the serious, uptight, older brother, was grinning like a madman with a bottle in his hand and his arms swaying to the rhythm of the music. His bright silvery eyes were fogged and tinged a slight red and his chest constantly rumbled with loud laughter at whoever was in front of him. Sometimes there was no one in front of him at all.

Alex grinned, nudging Farkas with her shoulder and pointing at Vilkas with a bottled hand. "You're bro's really having a ball over there." she said over the noise.

Farkas spared a brief glance his brother's way and smirked smugly before taking a swig of his third bottle "Alcohol does that to him. But drunk or not, I'm still the funner brother."

The Imperial tittered, shoving her companion playfully and drinking from her bottle. She was feeling a slight buzz by now. "I believe that."

An excited nudge on the Imperial's other shoulder had her looking up to her other best friend whose brightly grinning face was aimed across the room. She pointed in the same direction with her bottle for the briefest of seconds to avoid getting caught by the Nord who'd barely entered Jorrvaskr through the back entrance. "Look who decided to show up." Aela informed with slight suggestiveness before taking a seat on Alex's other side.

The Imperial's back straightened and a bright smile spilled gleefully across her face when she caught sight of those familiar grey orbs that seemed to be searching the crowd of dancing partiers for someone in particular. Alex emptied the last of her bottle and grabbed another from the bowl nearby before venturing across the crowd and past the insufferable bard that stood front and center by the firepit. Something in the back of the Imperial's mind toyed with the idea of pushing him in for a second. Just a couple fleeting seconds. But that was just the mead talking.. somewhat. Alex kept her stare solely on Lydia where she leaned against the the railing at the head of the back stairs, still scanning the crowd for something. Alex's brightly beaming face emerged from the crowd of rowdy people when she stepped up onto the small flight of wooden steps to the searching Nord.

Lydia's face brightened noticeably and a certain glee lit in her entrancing orbs. "Alex!" she yelled over the noise and pushed off the stair railings.

Alex beamed impossibly brighter at the trace of happiness in Lydia's voice that her mead-filled mind had convinced her it was her doing. "Hey!" she replied and, perhaps from the relaxed confidence her buzz gave her, leaned in for a hug with her free hand. Lydia hesitated at first, but soon wrapped her arms around Alex's neck, sparking the customary electricity about their flesh. "Glad you could make it!" the Imperial twisted open the mead in her hand and handed it to Lydia. "I opened it right in front of you, so I promise I didn't poison it." she teased, winking at the grinning woman who rolled her eyes and took the bottle graciously.

"Thanks, you're too kind." Alex shrugged and leaned against the wooden rails, one step below Lydia which made her have to look even higher up than she usually did to see the woman's face. "I would have believed you regardless."

The Imperial blinked, a grin finding purchase upon her loose lips. "Why the sudden trust?"

Lydia shrugged, throwing her head back for a drink. "I figured you wouldn't try to kill me if you were so willing to break a man's wrist for simply touching me."

Had she been sober, she might have blushed a little in sheepish embarrassment, but the pleasant lightness in her chest and head only let Alex laugh out loud, "Well he should have known better."

The Nord blinked, her eyebrows raising slightly at Alex's relatively aloof attitude. She expected the shorter woman to clam up and bumble some kind of excuse for her questionable actions, maybe even blush the lightest of embarassments. She hadn't expected her to embrace her earlier behavior, however, or even make a little joke about it. "How are you faring?" Lydia queried after a relatively silent moment.

Alex shrugged. "I'm quite alright, I'm not so angry anymore... still don't know why I was angry in the first place, though..."

Lydia nodded, "and the other thing?" she prompted. "your wound?"

This time there was a pause, but only for the most fleeting of seconds. "That's taken care of too..."

Another nod and Lydia's gaze traveled briefly down to Alex's very much still exposed chest. She busied herself, however, by training her gaze in some random direction just over the Imperial's head. Alex smirked, grabbing Lydia's bottle and taking a small sip. Her azure eyes watched as Lydia's gaze returned to her and darkened a couple shades at the Imperial's forwardness. "You can ask if you want to.."Alex informed, handing back the bottle.

Lydia understood her meaning immediately, hesitation blossomed about her pale features. "Are you going to answer truthfully?"

"As truthfully as I'm allowed."

Lydia took a breath and nodded, deciding not to waste her questions on the hows and whys and getting straight to it. "Okay... did you ever have a chest wound the other night?" she had a hunch about the answer, Alex seemed absolutely fine during their talk just before she was practically hospitalized for two days straight.

The Imperial pursed her lips and shook her head, "Nope."

Surprise didn't color the housecarl's pale face. Only self confirmation. "Were you there at Robber's Gorge last night?"

The mead made it easier for her to answer."Yep."

Lydia's eyes narrowed and she had to lean in closer so others wouldn't hear. "Did you see the werewolf?"

Alex gave a wolfish grin, "Somewhat.."

"Is that why you have stitches on your back?"

The Imperial shook her head. "No.."

"Did it attack you?"

"No.."

"So why didn't you help me?"

"I can't answer that."

Lydia frowned. "Why not?"

"Because my answer will be a lie." Alex replied, leaning closer toward the Nord. Lydia frowned for a moment, searching for something in the Imperial's blue gaze. She took the shorter woman by the hand and tugged her toward the back doors and onto the lantern lit patio. It was a great deal more tranquil than inside. The two sat at the farthest table away from prying ears.

Lydia leaned against the small table and stared deep into Alex's azure depths with wide, piercing eyes. "Should I be concerned that you left me there to be wolf food?"

Alex's stare flickered with looming offense, something Lydia didn't miss. The Imperial's stare darkened only slightly. She wanted to tell her she hadn't left for even a second, but she wasn't drunk enough to spill that much. "You should only be concerned if you don't trust me."

Lydia leaned in closer. "And if I don't?" she asked, her voice low.

Alex leaned as well, resting her elbows on the tiny table much like Lydia was. "Then you've poorly misjudged me." she replied just as low. There were no others out here, she could sense that much. And the dark and stir-less night surrounding them gave the Imperial a certain comfort. Like a blanket of familiarity that loomed cooly over her. She did, after all, operate in the shadows. And the raven skies above made her feel as if they were hidden from the world. Safe from intruders and eavesdroppers for the air around them was calm enough to allow for their near whispers to reach each other undisturbed.

Lydia continued to search Alex's unwavering stare, silence overtook her for a moment as she scanned for something that the Imperial couldn't begin to wonder about. After a long period of searching silence, Lydia finally spoke, lower than before. "What really happened the other night?"

A slow smirk melted across the Imperial's plump lips as she reached out to finger the neck of Lydia's unfinished bottle. Without breaking their deep gaze Alex lifted the bottle to her lips to the steadily darkening eyes of the Nord before her. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she sipped the drink slowly and licked her lips afterward. Grey orbs followed the liquid movement.

"That's why I asked..." Lydia replied eyes transfixed on the Imperial's now glistening pink lips.

"Well I can't answer that either..."

Darkened grey orbs returned to smoldering azure gems. "Why not?" Lydia asked, half expecting the Imperial's previous answer.

"Because even I don't know the answer to that... not yet."

"Would you tell me eventually?"

Alex pondered briefly. "I'm not sure."

"Why not?" Lydia repeated for the third time.

"I'm not sure you have the right to know." Alex answered truthfully. She got a curious look in return. "even if the others rendered it okay to tell you, I'm not sure if I would. You did duck out on me for a good month after all. Save for the observations I've made during my travels with you, I barely know you. Who's to say you wouldn't use the information to smite me?"

Lydia's eyes flickered this time, darkening for different reasons than before. "You'd just have to take my word for it.." Lydia replied, leaning in once again.

"And how would I do that?" Alex questioned lower, inching ever closer. Her smoldering stare watching Lydia's lips as she spoke. The distant music from inside fell away; the drunken laughter, the slurring arguments, the uneven throbbing of her heart, it all fell away. She remained only aware of the enticing lips that hovered before her, a pink tongue snaked out to wet them, leaving them shimmering in the dim moonlight.

"By trusting me." neither women watched each other anymore, transfixed on the tantalizing pair of shimmering lips before them as the distance receded with every passing second.

"And if I don't?" Alex whispered, brushing her nose with Lydia's. Her heart pounded in her chest and her mind vibrated almost overwhelmingly, her breath near close to hitching in her throat. But she was barely aware of it, for she was sufficiently engrossed in the addicting presence of this woman.

Their eyes met then, shining with gentle urgency and a silent yearning to put the existence of proximity behind them.

With utmost and absolutely gentle conviction, Lydia murmured: "Then you've poorly misjudged me."

And then both women devoured the distance with the most tender care, unwilling to disturb the peaceful night with anything rougher than the gentleness that surrounded them. The kiss was ambrosia. Longly coveted by both parties, a desire unknown to any of them until finally graced with the sweet taste of silken lips. Alex hadn't noticed the pull she had been fighting until the flick of sweet release left her feeling lightheaded. And as soon as the warm joy within the both of them blossomed into euphoria, they pulled away. But only to breath. The stale air left behind had them slipping into nostalgia for those perfect lips of delicious satin, and so they pulled back in for more. And more. Quickly forgetting the hardships and shallow insults and weeks of absence from one another with every gentle brush, and every careful touch.

And a slight, but ever significant shift stirred in the very back of Alex's mind. She was at peace.

**xx**

**I hope the last parts weren't too corny, and I hope I made it juicy enough. I like to try to get my readers to lose themselves in the story like I often find myself doing with other great stories on this site.**


	19. Chapter 19

**We finally get some answers in terms of Alex's situation.**

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

Alex padded leisurely through the Jorrvaskr sleeping quarters, holding a towel around herself. She ran the fingers of her free hand in her moist locks and ruffled it to get some of the water out as she sauntered. The Companions that passed her by waved or called their friendly greetings. Their eyes remained for the most part above the towel line, the only exceptions were the young newcomers that couldn't resist their curiosity and followed the many beads of water that traveled down the bathed Imperial's glistening skin. Particularly the ones that disappeared between her breasts. Alex allowed a small smile, shaking her head at the male new bloods and their wandering eyes. The Imperial could smell a small trace of lust on them.

_'Kids..' _she thought almost fondly to herself, uncaring that she most likely only had a couple years advance on them. _'so hormonal.' _but she was the last to talk.

She felt particularly accomplished today having just returned home from a task she'd finally been assigned after what seemed like months; it'd only been a week. The last task she'd taken up was with Aela, who lay restfully on her bed when Alex ducked in their room. The two caught eyes a moment and nodded their silent greeting. The Imperial locked the doors behind her and unhooked the towel from her breasts, lifting the white cloth to her hair to dry as she padded over to the wardrobe. A chuckle from Aela's side of the room made Alex steal a glance over her beaded shoulder.

"Am I still allowed to see you naked now that you and Lydia are a thing?" Aela queried jokingly as she tumbled her dagger around in her hands.

Alex frowned a little in confusion, she lowered the towel over her shoulders and opened the doors of the wardrobe. "What are you talking about?"

Aela smirked, shrugging. "You know.. Lydia may not approve of the fact that I'm staring at your ass right now."

Alex blinked, looking back at Aela with a slightly deadpan stare, the only difference was the small smile she donned. Sure enough, when she turned, the huntress' eyes flickered back up to connect with the Imperial's gaze. A small mirthful light colored her metallic irises. "We're not an item, Aela." yes they kissed during the party the other night, yes they spent their time in each others company for the remaining duration of the festivities, but neither had mentioned the occurrence, or where it left them, on the patio the next day. The Imperial wasn't aware of Lydia's reasons for doing so, but part of her remained silent on the subject in partial fear of the housecarl's potential denial of it. "we just kissed." but the words felt false on Alex's tongue. As if her utterance hadn't done the kiss, and the exhilarating sensations it uncovered, any justice.

The huntress smirked. "Kissed? Or made out?"

Alex had to ponder a moment as her hands absently sifted through her clothes for a fresh pair of leathers. "Well.." true it wasn't a _single _kiss. But 'making out' seemed like such a vulgar term to describe it as. Both women had treaded with the utmost care. The Imperial could practically feel Lydia's soft lips caressing her own and the woman's gentle albeit urgent fingers bury pleasantly in her silk tresses to tug her back in for more when she pulled away, when she thought back on the night. An absent and slightly wistful grin sneaked across Alex's lips at the clear memory. "I guess it was more of the second one.." Alex jolted a bit when Aela's loud laughter shook through her reverie. Admittedly she'd gotten a bit lost in it.

"It had to be the second one. You two were out there for a while. And the grins the both of you wore when you returned was absolutely priceless."

The Imperial allowed a fond grin to blossom about her lips as she tugged out her leather vest and shrugged it on, doing the catch up to her breasts. She opened the top drawer and retrieved her underwear, sliding those on as well. "I hadn't noticed." she mentioned absently, finding and tugging on a pair of leather pants after toweling herself.

"Of course not.." Aela chuckled. "so are you going to talk to her about it?"

Alex shook her head unsure, she tossed her towel and ran a hand through her still moist mane and scooped even halves of it on either side of her shoulders, tousling it a final time before tugging on her hood a few inches before her hairline. "I don't know... confronting Lydia on sensitive subjects such as that didn't exactly pan out the last time I tried." she said, thinking back to the night she'd first visited Lydia at Breezehome.

"So you're just going to pretend it never happened?"

The Imperial's face contorted a bit in thought while she sat on her bed and slid on her boots. Her bangs fell slightly in her face and she had to comb them off to the side. She most definitely didn't like the thought of that; acting as if nothing had transpired and moving on unfazed. And to never kiss those lips again? _'Fuck that!' _Alex thought with a passion. "No... definitely not. I just won't bring it up until we're in a more stable place. Things are still a bit fragile between us." Alex thought back to the events of the other day; the dodgy morning, the pleasant breakfast, the laughs, the bard's rude interruption, the almost kiss. The actual kiss, and the playful laughs and teasing jokes that transpired the remaining of the night until they bid goodbye with secret murmurs and smoldering eyes that yelled for the other to come just a little closer to press their lips together a final time before they left each other. Neither did, however. "we're in a better place at least." she added, pleased.

When she looked, Alex saw a small joy in her best friend's features. "I'm happy for you." she said sincerely, sheathing her blade and hoisting herself from bed, she fingered back the fiery tresses that managed to fall into her metallic orbs and walked over to their weapon rack to retrieve her bow and arrows. "it's about time you two started playing nice without all the drama. I would've had Farkas shoot me in the face if it went on any further... but the fool would probably miss."

Standing up to her full height, Alex grinned and rolled her eyes. It was just like Aela to give truthful words and follow them up with a playful jab to keep from feeling too mushy. "I agree completely, friend."

XXXX

Alex smiled brightly at the playing children that passed her by and bid hello to the group, they responded with happy beams and disappeared around a corner. The Imperial took a bite out of the sweetroll she'd taken from the kitchen and tossed the pastry up and down as she walked down the stairs to the plains district. The sun shined in her eyes as she descended the many stone steps, slowly munching on her pastry as she went. When the sun's rays disappeared behind the obstructing walls of The Bannered Mare, a familiar head of shoulder length raven hair caught her sights. If she hadn't immediately recognized the woman by her armor and just simply knowing, the trademark braid that sat upon the side of Lydia's pale face would have alerted Alex of her identity in an instant. She stood before Fralia Gray-Mane's stall, scanning the expanse of jewelry that arrayed the table and cases. Alex grinned, strolling over silently and took another bite of her pastry. Lydia hadn't noticed the Imperial's approach, and the prospect didn't surprise her in the slightest. _'I am a sneak god.'_ she thought cockily before quickly grabbing Lydia by the hips and yelling, "Boo!" making the woman jump.

The startled housecarl wheeled around and grabbed Alex by the vest, her free arm reeling back in a punch. Alex only laughed and raised her arms in feigned surrender, unfazed in the slightest, when Lydia's raised fist still just behind her ear. The anger that hardened her beautiful face quickly fell when recognition flashed in her once dangerously gleaming eyes. "Alex," Lydia stuttered in shock. Her hand quickly released the leather bunched between her fingers as soon as she recognized the playful grin and the teasing blue eyes half hidden behind the Imperial's now disarrayed bangs and the hood she hadn't seen the woman wear the entire week. Apologies screamed from Lydia's face as she vocalized them, "I am so sorry!" she helped the shorter woman readjust her top, resisting the incessant urge to steal a glance at the tempting skin exposed above it. Alex had to grab Lydia by the shoulders to stop the stream of apologies from spilling out of her mouth. Which Alex desperately tried to keep from staring at.

"It's fine, really." the Imperial laughed reassuringly when she managed to stop Lydia's murmurings. "I'm partly to blame, you'd think after so many bruises from Aela I'd learn to stop sneaking up on people. You almost wrenched my nipple off there."

Lydia's eyes darkened, shifting sheepishly off to the side as a light tinge pinkened the housecarl's pale cheeks. "I don't believe you ever will." she replied. Just when Alex assumed she'd upset her she added, "I certainly haven't learned to stop being such a bitch after the many times we'd argued." with a grin. "and, sorry about your... nipple." Lydia's blush deepened, her eyes darkening even more.

Alex smiled, "It's not a problem." an embarrassed Lydia was the cutest thing. "so are you shopping for a ring or something?" she asked, gesturing to the booth behind Lydia's shoulder.

Lydia blinked, confusion coloring her features until realization hit her. "Oh! No, I was just browsing." she answered, turning back to the stall behind her and the aged woman that owned it.

Alex gave a polite smile to the old merchant. "Good afternoon, Fralia, are you having a pleasant day today?"

The elder returned her kind smile graciously. "Why yes I am, dear, thank you for asking."

"I understand it must be a difficult time for you regarding your son. You have my condolences."

Worry and anger and hopelessness flashed and blended across Fralia's wrinkled face. "Yes, he still hasn't returned. And I'm very much obliged dear, I miss him so much."

Sincere concern shown in Alex's expression. Her thin brows curved upward in the the middle she seemed like she honestly felt for the man as if he were someone she'd been a close friend. And Lydia began to wonder if she was. She wasn't. "He will be in my prayers," Alex assured with sincere conviction, honest care coloring her tone as she stood beside Lydia.

"Oh that would be very much appreciated."

The polite Imperial nodded and turned back to Lydia, who was appraising her curiously. A hint of admiration swirled in her eyes. Alex paused, a small tug playing at her brows. "Are you alright?" she wondered slightly concerned.

The Nord blinked. Her features going blank for a moment. "I'm sorry what?" when Alex only gave a curious smile Lydia continued. "oh, yeah, I'm fine." then she gave Fralia a kind smile. "I'll be sure to stop by when I've got the coin." and began to leave, but not without stealing a fleeting and longing glance at a gold sapphire necklace locked away in one of the display cases. Alex caught the look, raising a contemplating brow before following and stepping over the last bit of sweetroll she'd dropped when Lydia had grabbed her.

"I didn't take you for the religious type." Lydia mused absently as they strolled in no particular direction. It was apparent that everything else usually lost value when the two were together.

Alex shrugged, keeping an easy pace. "I'm not too deep into the practice. But I suppose I kept some of my parent's values. Only some, though." they were deeply religious, it nearly had her suffocating.

"Mm." Lydia hummed absently, "and the consideration?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your consideration." Lydia repeated. "did you get that from your parents too?" she noticed Alex was a kind-hearted person, always treating others with respect and even care at times. The Imperial felt for the hardships she witnessed, unknowingly throwing herself in the situations she heard and feeling the emotions of the people that told them. Something Lydia witnessed just now with Fralia.

"My consideration?" Alex repeated with utmost confusion, she seemed unable to register exactly what Lydia was saying. "what do you mean?"

The Nord leveled an incredulous stare Alex's way. "You can't honestly be unaware of it.." but the look she received told Lydia that she really wasn't. She couldn't help the disbelieving sigh that escaped her lips. "you're a kind person, Alex. I've seen the way you react to certain things, feel certain people. You wear your heart on your sleeve to those that are close to you. But you keep others at a distance until they've earned your trust. And though you keep them safely away, you still wonder and you worry for them as if they were a family friend. I've seen that with me and Mikael. He didn't deserve your sympathy, but he got it anyway. Just like me." distaste shaped the Imperial's face at that sentence. "and just now, with Fralia, you seemed so honestly concerned that I wondered for a moment if you knew her son personally. With all honesty it blows me away every time you give a piece of your heart to someone you barely even know. It's admirable. And the fact that you don't even realize it is even more so."

Alex blinked, soaking in the truthfully spoken words she'd just heard. Admittedly she was flattered, whether from Lydia's words or her obvious awareness of her, she couldn't tell. She really never noticed her actions toward others. No one ever mentioned it. Maybe Farkas and Aela every now and again but their words were a bit more different._ "You're such a noodle, Alex. Grow some skin."_ they'd be joking for the most part of course. A part of her didn't believe in Lydia's little speech. Not out of spite or anything near negative. Simply out of sheer incredulity. _'I don't care about _everyone..._ maybe more than the average person. But not every single person I meet.'_a small and playful smile began to play at the Imperial's lips as they walked in the silence that waked. Alex slowly turned to Lydia asking:

"Are you calling me a flower?" with joking mirth ringing clearly in her voice.

Lydia laughed heartily, shaking her head. "Not at all. I suppose in a way I'm simply stating that I admire you."

XXXX

The silent tranquility that lingered in the front area of Kodlak's chamber was almost eery. There was no sound disturbing the still peace around them as Aldx sat stiffly in her seat across from the old harbinger's seat. His large beard was slowly rubbed by his mindless fingers as he appraised the young Imperial absently. It'd been days since they'd last spoken in the Underforge and the situation seemed strained. But the young woman that sat before him seemed to almost glow. Her young face was vibrant once again, her energy brighter. And even though she was so clearly nervous, she seemed so much happier than the night she'd left the Underforge.

"You look well." he noted, watching as the Imperial's long fingers drumming anxiously against his table.

"I am well." Alex replied with a smile, nervous as it was. "things have been going delightfully the last few days."

Kodlak slowly nodded. "That's good." Alex gave another nervous smile, her mind riddled with anxiety; both with eagerness to finally hear the news, and slight fear of what exactly it would be. There had to be a reason why they made her wait so long after all. It would most definitely be hard to take in. Or so she assumed. "well then, I suppose you don't want to waste any time." Kodlak began. "you've shown a remarkable recovery and progress from when I've seen you last. You seem stable enough to hear of your Wolf's current state... and subsequently, your own. There is still no rush on the matter, however, and should you wish to reserve this conversation for another time, your decision will be understood."

The look Alex made gave Kodlak his answer with a passionate fire. The harbinger smiled and let loose a brief chuckle. "Of course not." he chortled, and began. Alex drew a deep, shaky breath. "as you know, Beast Blood comes with its drawbacks. But when lying dormant, your inner Beast typically does not stir unless called upon. This is true for most Circle members. You, however, have gone through, and are going through, a phenomenon that hasn't been witnessed in a great many years.

"this particular event has only been heard of once before, in the days of old harbinger Terrfyg, and even then the true course of events has always been hazed with rumor and misjudgment. In the days you've been sent to recover, I've seeked counsel with old sources to gather as accurate an explanation as I could manage. And I inform you now that I've done exactly that."

Kodlak paused, awaiting Alex's response. She gave a prompting nod and remained respectfully silent in wait of her harbinger's explanations. He continued. "Not much is known about Terrfyg's life. A great deal of his accomplishments were overshadowed by the knowledge of his responsibility of turning the Circle to the ways of the beast. To this day the exact events that lead to our cursed gift is not entirely known, but I've managed to unravel enough to clear the confusion that surrounds your current situation.

"as a fierce elite Companion, Terrfyg accumulated a great many enemies. He served in the front line alongside his preceding harbinger and fought with a fire that his foes could not follow pace with. As a warrior, he was flawless. As a strategist, he was faulty. His decisions were of impulse and spontaneity, often not thought over thoroughly in the long term. His heart burned with as fierce a force as his sword and his many triumphs gradually gathered a great amount of enemies that followed him even after his transition to harbinger of the Companions. This slowed him a great deal, often requiring a greater amount of caution on his ventures. He grew paranoid, and this only worsened when he'd grow close to a fellow Circle member he'd eventually make his wife.

"they fell deeply for each other. Those around them could see their connection was far from shallow fancy. She fought along his side, protecting him from his foes and he hers. Eventually it grew too much. Their skills combined could barely graze their enemies joined defenses even couples with the force of the Companions. Terrfyg's wife eventually fell ill, unable to lift an arm let alone her mighty sword to protect her beloved husband. Her aleness affected him greatly, he fell into a depression and began to seek out greater ways to better himself. For himself, for his wife. That's when he sought out the Glenmoril Witches."

The Imperial's fidgety fingers had stopped dancing about Kodlak's table, her attention completely fixated on the steady words that flowed from the harbinger's wise mouth.

"The details surrounding the events of the deal isn't entirely known, but it is said that Terrfyg's initial intention was to protect himself and his wife from their many foes, especially in her time of dire strife and her inability to fend for herself. At this time it wasn't clear the immunity that came with Beast Blood. So Terrfyg, assuming the transformation would only bring greater trial to his already fragile wife, kept the cursed gift his own burden. Eventually, however, he began to experience what he presumed was his body's resistance to the change. His Wolf had begun to act on its own accord, forcing its way from his skin and jolting in its confines. One night, as he slept beside his ill wife, his Wolf awoken of its own freewill. He Changed in their home, leaving a whirlwind of disaster about their quarters as he struggled for control of his Beast. His wife awoke, of course, and immediately caught the free Beast's attentions." a small, tense gasp escaped the listening Imperial.

"Did he eat her?"

Kodlak's head shook.

"Though he hadn't eaten her, he did deal a single bite. But not to harm. He passed the gift on to his wife, who subsequently turned and bore the gift alongside her husband. Her sickness gone."

Alex frowned. "I thought we couldn't pass the gift that way."

Kodlak smiled a grim smile, "Most of us can't. But, like I said; his situation, like yours, is a unique one. It became apparent that their bond was rooted even deeper than the limits that they'd faced before the gift had been brought upon them. They were meant for each other on more than just a human level, finding that they were bonded on a spiritual level as well, maybe even much deeper than that. There is a name for what Terrfyg and his wife had together. And I believe that this unwavering bond is exactly what you share with Lydia now."

Alex's brows never relaxed from their gathered position, her eyes screaming questions that Kodlak would finally, _finally_, be able to answer. "What is it?"

As Kodlak stared deeply into the Imperial's curious soul, his gleaming metallic eyes glimmered with absolute assurance. "Alex, I believe Lydia is your mate."

**xx**

**Mate? What the hell is a mate? Surely it's not a _good day mate_ type mate, right? Nah, course not. More answers will be in the next chapter. But until then, were there any predictions on Alex's situation before Kodlak told his little story? Let me know, I'm curious. And sorry for the heavy dialogue in this chapter. Everyone apparently decided it was a good time to talk in paragraphs XD. And there is most likely going to be a lot of dialogue in the next chapter as well.**


	20. Petition!

**This isn't part of the story but hear me out. The next chapter will be back to normal.**

The administrators of are as of June 4th going to be taking down Fics that have lemons or have extreme violence. Now I don't know about you but I think thats stupid. There are many wonderful fics that only have one or two lemons in them yet the plot itself is awesome! You can't just take down a 100,000+ word fic just because it has a lemon in a chapter that is only 1000 words long. Now I urge you all to read the petition below, sign it, and repost this to your own fics. Hopefully if we make enough noise everything will return to normal. Thank you.

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

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	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

There should have been a jolt. There should have been a sound or move or breath of absolute shock, or _some _kind of significant reaction from the young Imperial other than the single, languorous blink that hid the room of her accepting cerulean eyes for a brief moment during the untouched silence that settled in her harbinger's wake. Perhaps it was out of surprise, perhaps the information hadn't sunk in at the moment, perhaps she merely didn't believe Kodlak's little speech.. at least the last parts, but Alex couldn't bring herself to react in any other way, verbal or otherwise. Her attention was, for the most part, distracted with the curious relief that settled inside her. It felt as if something in her had been waiting, carrying a questionable weight for a long time and now she was able to let it go and feel the delicious sensation of long awaited relaxation. Like the first pulls of air after being underwater for so long or the pleasant depleting ache in the heels after standing all day.

"Huh.." Alex muttered, no actual words coming to mind, only questions, but even they couldn't break the surface of Alex's heavy lips that could do nothing else than hang slack in her scattered ponderings.

Kodlak allowed the oddly calm Imperial a few moments of thought before folding his large hands upon the table and leaning forward with shining eyes that never swayed from its silent analysis of Alex's reactions... or rather, _lack_ of reactions there of. The room gave no noises, it only whispered the muffled bustlings of the Companions quarters that carried over from the other side of Kodlak's closed doors. After a moment, Alex wet her lips and cleared her throat, leaning up in her seat and pressing her elbows on the table where they had been before they slid away with her thoughts.

"Um.." she mumbled. "wow... well. That's a um... that's interesting." her throat moved when she swallowed. "what exactly uh, is that?"

Kodlak adjusted his shoulders beneath his heavy wolf armor, "Not a lot of details are known about the subject having happened only once, and quite a long while ago at that. However, to my knowledge, it means that Lydia is your soulmate. In body and spirit, and you hers. It is a reaction that was sensed by your Wolf. Her instincts are, after all, much sharper than your own senses."

Alex's brows gathered as she fell deeper into her thoughts. "And all this ties into the weird chest pains and growling and that questionable episode that had me stuck in the Underforge for two days?"

The wise harbinger nodded. "I believe the pains and the restlessness we previously discussed were a product of your Wolf's frustration with your ignorance of the situation. And on the matters of that night, I believe Lydia denied a previous encounter of yours, correct?"

The Imperial nodded, remembering Lydia's grey hues screaming denials at her on the matter of their drunken joining. Alex reflexively winced at the expected wrench that typically sprouted in her chest whenever she thought back on the event but it never came. It only felt as if she'd scratched a long healed wound.

Kodlak returned the nod and continued: "My thoughts are that your Wolf's instincts were jostled by her denial of your joining. She must have felt your mate's well-being was being compromised, like you were losing her. The incident that transpired was Her efforts to turn Lydia, but we stopped you before you could reach her. You may not be able to recall that, however. From the looks of things while we were tracking you down She put you through enough pain during the Change to cause you to lose consciousness. She knew you'd try and stop her out of misunderstanding of Her efforts, and She seemed to want to shield you from the pain of possibly losing your mate."

"How many mates does a person have, exactly?" Alex questioned.

"From my understanding; only one. A soulmate wouldn't be a soulmate if he or she weren't unique, correct?"

Alex hummed absently as she thought back. "So, I'm assuming that's the reason behind my hostility toward Mikael the other day..." she muttered to no one. Kodlak heard and asked what of it, Alex merely waved it off and asked, "the pull isn't my Wolf trying to eat Lydia?"

"No, that is a natural attraction to your other half. Everything that gave you difficulty was a result of your Wolf's reaction toward finding your mate. The pains whenever Lydia was near was Her attempts at bringing you closer, the pull, the anxiety. She was beginning to grow impatient."

The Imperial slowly began to nod with Kodlak's information, everything finally began to slip into place, her mental cogs began to turn and her thoughts began to make more sense. "That's where the dreams came from.." Tilma and her hint, the constant emissions, Lydia's words in a specific dream. The intense anger from her Beast that night during Lydia's Trial at the thought of her demise at the hands of the Giants.

"Dreams?" Kodlak's curious prompting interrupted Alex's mental breakthrough.

She blinked a single time, eyes falling wide in realization that her harbinger hadn't any knowledge of the suggestive dreams that often came about in the past. "Uh, nothing nothing." she cleared her throat out of embarrassment. "so uh.. mate huh? That's pretty intense.." she digressed, effectively changing the subject.

"Yes it is." Kodlak agreed. His metallic eyes watched Alex's calm expression with a curious wonderment. "you're taking this with a greater stride than I'd assumed." he mused.

Alex returned from her thoughts a moment after realizing she'd just been addressed. "What? Oh, yeah.. I'm surprising myself right now." she commented almost uncaring. "I probably still haven't soaked everything in entirely yet, but I feel a million times lighter than I've been at my best. Of course, my only concern is for Lydia. Since she's my mate," saying the word spurred a curious satisfaction from both her and her Wolf. It almost felt as if Lydia's lips were all over her again. "I'm assuming she's allowed to know about the Beast Blood." the confirming nod from Kodlak answered Alex's wonderings. "and she's not exactly the type of person that could be told her soulmate is a werewolf and react by dancing around in a meadow singing songs of merriment." A small chuckle escaped Kodlak's lips at the ridiculous picture. "I've only just gotten her back in my life and information of this intense a nature would certainly push her back to her old ways."

The harbinger silently followed along with the Imperial. "If I had any say in it, I'd wait until your relationship is in a more stable place. No need to empty the entire bottle on her now. But of course that's merely my perspective on things."

XXXX

"They may be trying to study us." Aela mused as she lifted a tankard to her lips. She, Alex, and Farkas sat at one of the corner tables at The Bannered Mare discussing the events and possible motives behind the Silver Hand's encounter the other night. "that would explain the rope." she'd noticed a good amount of the men had a generous amount of binding supplies on their corpses while she assisted Lydia after Alex had ran off to Whiterun.

"And their large numbers." Alex added. "it wasn't a mere coincidence that they'd traveled in such a large group. They were certainly planning on bringing back a werewolf. It wouldn't be the first time they'd taken back a Wolf to one of their hideouts, after all."

Aela leaned back in her seat, frowning in thought. "They're getting rather bold, though, don't you agree?" she asked. "a lot of the time our encounters are of a petty nature; verbal jabs here, some wounds there. But they'd never tried an actual caper."

Alex chuckled shortly, setting down her mug. "I'm sure they've tried a couple times.." she offered with a bit of curiosity. She couldn't provide her own answer, for the meeting the other night was her first, being the newest Circle member.

Farkas gave a smug smile. "They have in the past, but they'd only ever attacked with a handful of men. Barely any effort is ever put into their operations concerning us because they know it would never pan out, so they go for others. They hunt for werewolves outside of the Companions because they're easier kill and not as knowledgeable about their strategies. The Silver Hand learn from those and then attempt an attack on us after months of studying. To deliberately go after a Circle member is rather ambitious of them. And to travel in a well-sized entourage shows that they meant business."

"They must be brewing another plot." Aela mused.

"Mmm." Alex hummed in agreement.

Farkas scoffed and shook his head confidently. "A meager act. We'll skin them bare like we always do."

Alex chuckled, soon joined by Aela, and then Farkas. The Imperial raised her mug: "Cheers to that." the three touched their mugs and drank.

The opening of the front doors caught Alex's attention, her eyes reflexively rose to the moving wood and soon landed on Lydia's entering form. A large grin instantly burst upon the Imperial's lips and the near shout of glee escaped her mouth before it'd even registered in her mind. "Lydia!" both Farkas and Aela peered over their shoulders toward the standing Nord, whose attention was instantly captured by Alex's joyful yell. Said Nord's mouth broke into a similar beam.

"Hey, Alex." she greeted and walked over to the small table that, she'd realized, the two had had breakfast at just the other day. Lydia leaned in toward Alex, wrapping her in a greeting and, admittedly, lingering embrace. The witnessing Wolves beside them watched on with impish eyes. The smiling housecarl turned toward them after an unknowingly long glance at Alex's smiling face, "good afternoon to the two of you." she greeted somewhat formally. She wasn't one to be bashful, but these were Alex's best friends. And whatever was going on between she and the Imperial, Farkas and Aela would surely know. She felt somewhat cornered, realizing that the moment she'd began to see Alex in a new light, she'd seen the same change in her friends; Lydia felt as if they had a kind of authority over her now. A part of her felt a bit defiant on the matter.

Farkas scoffed and both Aela and Alex let loose a growing grin at the woman's formality. "There's no need for that polite nonsense!" Farkas insisted and sat up in his chair, "we get to get the same greeting as Alex. It's no fair she gets a hug and we don't." the large man opened his thick arms in welcoming, a large friendly grin plastered to his mouth as he watched Lydia's face slowly fall into hesitant curiosity. Alex chortled gently when Lydia looked to her for answers and merely encouraged her with a gesturing hand. "it's great to see you talking to the shorty again."

Alex's steady laugh died instantly on her lips and her amused expression fell into a deadpan stare to the blossoming titters and chuckles of the three Nords before her. Lydia gave Alex a bright grin, gently laughing along with the others as she did. She went over to give Aela the same treatment as she did with the previous warriors but was stopped by a raised hand. "You don't have to do that, I'm not as affectionate as Farkas can be..." the huntress informed. Then a sly glee reflected in her metallic eyes as her sights fell onto Alex. "or the shorty for that matter."

The Imperial glowered at her friends, crossing her arms rather petulantly as their laughter started up again. "I'm not even that short. You're all just abnormally tall."

Farkas shook his head chuckling. "No, Altmeri are abnormally tall. We are average and you are a short little Imperial woman I could just stick into my knapsack."

Alex rolled her eyes, fighting the smile that tugged at her lips as she looked away from the laughing Nords in playful defiance. One in particular rested a hand on her shoulder, brushing the crook of her bare neck with a gentle thumb and drawing familiar electricity across her flesh. "Don't worry, Alex, I find it rather endearing."

The Imperial couldn't fight her smile from then on.

XXXX

Across the crowded tavern settled back in a corner seat, a young golden haired Henrik observed the laughing Companion members from afar. His eyes remained locked on them even as the other occupants briefly blocked him of his targets when they passed by. A sure hand absently reached for his tankard of mead and pressed it to his lips. The other lightly rested on his lap, stroking the crisp, folded, parchment that marked his chance for greatness in its sloppily scribbled contents; the beginning step to long awaited respect, a chance to show his capabilities, and finally an opportunity to quench the unrelenting thirst of his ambitions.

He watched as the recently arrived Nordic woman retrieved a free chair from one of the other tables and pulled it up beside the only Imperial in the group who watched her with a certain intensity that he nearly felt intrusive to witness. They did nothing other than talk from then on, laughing every now and again but nothing significant. Henrik noted the welcome atmosphere that radiated around the male, how his large grin battered away the intimidation that his large size initially brought on. He noticed the constant tension that tightened the red-headed woman's shoulders into an ungiving straight line. He saw the stolen glances traded between the brunette women sat beside each other. How the Imperial spared a brief, yet constant peer to the woman next to her, and though he could only see the ebony tresses of the other woman's head, Henrik pictured the same intensity that reflected in the Imperial woman's eyes whenever the two's sights locked. And he knew exactly when they did, for the azure pools that remained unknowing of his observations would shortly flutter and visibly melt with a warmth that he always found himself looking away from for the sheer intensity of the emotion made him feel oddly obtrusive despite his unwelcomed watching altogether. Henrik's coffee eyes were steadily encompassed by the gathering of his fair brows as he watched the group, particularly the glancing women, for a moment longer.

When the young Henrik finished his mead, he produced the sufficient amount of gold to pay for the drink and rose from his corner chair. The young Nord pocketed his folded letter and rose the same palm to flatten his swinging silver necklace to his armored chest to stop its movements as he casually made for the exit. His eyes quickly reverted from the group of warriors seated beside the tavern doors when unsuspecting crystal orbs curiously rose at his encroaching. He took his leave with a new destination already in mind. The large mead hall of Jorrvaskr was calling him.

**xx**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed X) it is appreciated. Feeds my muse. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

The sound of shadowed boots and tumbling loot played a constant ambiance to the calmly striding Imperial who trekked with a single arm gripping the strap of the knapsack she'd slung over her shoulder. Had her strength not been improved by her Beast Blood, she'd have been struggling with the bag's weight as she held a steady pace downhill. Her fascinated eyes drank in the scenic view of the plains outside of Whiterun, it was an entrancing sight, but Alex had to admit White River was much more becoming when she could feel the coolness of it dancing about her fingers. She took her time descending the thinly coated white mountains, enjoying the chill that settled on her skin for it felt like ages since she last ventured out on a task. She'd began to grow a bit restless, but far from the same kind as she'd been experiencing in the past. Perhaps it was her animalistic nature but right after collecting coin from Belethor for the various junk she was lugging on her back, Alex planned on spending an ample amount of time in her Beast. It'd been a while and she quite enjoyed seeing the world through the keen sights of her Wolf, and absorbing pretty much everything else with sharpened senses; it was exhilarating.

Belethor paid a hefty sum for the various trinkets and now owner-less weapons Alex happily collected from the dead occupants of the camp she recently cleared and the warm animal pelts that accumulated during her leisured hike through the mountains. She thanked the Breton merchant and trudged off toward Jorrvaskr, tying her freshly swollen coinpurse to her waist on the way out the door. Alex pushed open the double-doors that closed off the lively activities within Jorrvaskr's walls, instantly met with friendly nods and greeting waves from her passing shield-siblings as she strode for the living quarters. Alex went straight to her and Aela's room, dropping her equipment and grabbing a towel, immediately heading for the bathroom. When she emerged shortly after with a large plume of steam surrounding her toweled body, she was graced with the passing figures of Aela and Lydia, who both instantly halted after recognizing her.

Two sets of eyes settled on her, one of which was focused a bit lower than the first. Alex didn't bother fighting back her slight grin and lifted a free hand to brush her soaked tresses from her gleaming eyes. "Alex! We were just searching for you." Aela told her, resting her hands on her hips as she watched her friend nurse a sly smirk.

"Were you?" the Imperial inquired to her best friend, though her focus was on Lydia, who hadn't lifted her wandering gaze from Alex's modestly clad, water beaded, flesh. "whatever for?"

"Lydia found something for you to do."

This captured Alex's attention and it showed in the way a single brow hiked up toward her hairline. "Is that so?"

Lydia nodded, then shortly after, tore her gaze from the enticing flesh just above the Imperial's towel line. "You'll find it worthwhile, I assure you." though it wasn't necessary, for Alex knew without a doubt that whatever Lydia would say next, she would gladly do. For the honest and shining smile that would surely come to light would be a thousand times more rewarding than the euphoria she'd certainly feel at simply quelling the Nord's request. "it's a chance for you to aid the Gray-Manes in their trials. Particularly Thorald Gray-Mane."

Alex's brow lifted again. "The missing son?"

Lydia nodded once more, before she could speak however, Aela edged in, "Alright, well I'll just leave the two of you at it. The hall is full of whelps upstairs and it's been quite a time since I'd last given a thorough beating." and then she departed, leaving her gently laughing companions behind.

Shortly after their companion's leave, Lydia and Alex caught gazes and slowly fell into a light silence. Both gently losing themselves in the silent call that shined luminously in the hypnotizing depths they stared into. The gentle pull within Alex's being began to tug her gently and she'd noticed Lydia's absent leaning as well when her sharp nostrils picked up the comforting perfume of the Nord woman's scent. Alex realized how very naked she was despite her towel, and eagerly threw that prospect to the back of her mind in favor of quickly receding distance between her and those lips. However, a tart and almost sour smell attacked her nose and nearly overpowered the delicious smell of Lydia's skin. It made her face twist and her head jerk away, lightly brushing her cheek against Lydia's in the process. The stink invaded her nose in the most unpleasant yet familiar of ways, the smell of lust hadn't burned this bad though. Alex sought out the source out of reflex, her focus instantly landed on a nearby Companion. One of the new bloods, his gaze shamelessly and unscrupulously taking in the two women standing in close proximity to each other. Alex's Wolf bristled within, matching Her frustration with the Imperial's for her shaped brows scowled above her menacing eyes. Her inexperience in controlling maternal urges prevented Alex from caging the malice that shouted in her expression, her instincts only recognizing an intruder upon her mate's decency for the new blood's adolescent and lustful stare eagerly drank in Lydia's form. The glances spared to Alex went unnoticed.

Despite her shadowy grasp on her instincts, Alex managed to withhold the snarl that roiled against her throat and willfully tore her attention from the young man. She leaned her head up, just enough for her mouth to hover beside her mate's ear at the same moment her fingers found Lydia's hand. "We should probably head to my room." and though she could care less who stared at her toweled form Alex added, "too many watching eyes and all."

And when she looked up to analyze Lydia's reaction, she found a scowl that unknowingly mirrored her own, pointed at another whelp whose gaze lingered a second too long on Alex's figure. "Aye. We certainly should."

XXXX

"We need to find a way in."

"Why not just barrel through?"

Alex blinked, leveling Lydia with a deadpanned stare. The Nord merely shrugged, signaling to the woman that she had no other ideas. Clearly Lydia's battle strategies hadn't changed much, even if her attitude toward the Imperial had. Alex pulled in a casual breath, taking in the many scents pervading the fort. Salt from the ocean nearby and the crisp feel of snow coated the various smells that reached her. Altmeri had an interesting smell, almost like the tart aroma of charred skeever tail. The Imperial silently snorted. _'And they thought they smelled all royal and shit.' _and then she blinked, thinking of something else. _'yeah, like royal _ass_.' _Lydia frowned curiously at the small, yet still unprovoked chuckle that escaped her company's grinning lips. _'oh Alex... you should be a jester..' _the Imperial complimented herself.

Alex sensed seven different occupants within the walls of Northwatch Keep. One of which the two women silently watched a ways away. He stood guard, armored arms crossed at his cuirass, his elven expression of stone remained unmoved and unfazed while his steady sights reflected the boredom he hid so physically well. Another stood on a built wooden platform, his eyes constantly scanning the snow coated grounds for potential threats. Threats he could not spot for the dim illumination of his torchlight did not reach the towering trees that hid the quiet warriors encompassed in midnight's endless blanket.

"That isn't too clever." Alex murmured, looking up at Lydia's slightly higher face.

She merely gave a knowing grinned, "I knew you'd say that. It was worth a try, though."

Watching the warmth swirling in pools of shining grey before her, Alex returned the contagious grin and peaked her head out from the tree they knelt behind.

Alex had found Lydia's task worthwhile indeed for the mystery around Thorald's disappearance was intrigue enough, but the opportunity to assist Fralia and her family increased the Impierial's interest tenfold. After Lydia had briefed her on the components of the task, Alex had insisted the Nord to accompany her. A sign of appreciation and simply another excuse to spend time with her.

"What we can do is find a good vantage point so we can case the area more thoroughly. I can pick them off from there and whatever I miss we can take care of up close." Alex suggested as she observed the two Thalmor soldiers standing guard at their posts. When she looked to Lydia for a reply, the Nord was already executing her agreeing nod.

The pair remained a ways from the fort, more to keep the roar of Lydia's clanking armor from reaching the alert elves yard away than to keep from being seen. Their silent prowling about the fort brought them to a subtle, but sufficient drift in the snow just at the back, the ocean reflected with the moonlight from the left. The jutting rocks rose high above the ground and gave Alex the perfect vantage to snipe the sentries keeping watch from above.

"This place is perfect." Alex whispered before equipping her bow and nocking a sleek ebony arrow. The darkness of the night kept them hidden and though the torchlights clutched in each warrior's hand served a bright and dancing beacon of their positions, her Beast Blood enabled flawless sight in the dark.

"Are you certain the evening won't bring trial to your aim?" Lydia questioned as Alex lined up with her chosen target. The Imperial glanced over her shoulder and smirked, an expression Lydia could only witness shadows of for her eyes were much less sharp than Alex's.

"Surely you don't doubt my skills that much do you, Lydia?" Alex lowly teased before returning her focus to the strolling soldier who would soon meet his fate. The Imperial's grin widened when the sure whisper of Lydia's voice absently reached her much lower than before. Perhaps thought to be low enough for Alex not to hear.

"No. I suppose I couldn't doubt you even if I wanted to."

Alex released her bowstring then, flying through the night as _part_ of the night for its raven surface made the sleek metal disappear into nothing until it found the end of its journey through the opening of the archer's helmet. He fell dead near the edge of the battlements, the momentum of the shot forcing him over the edge to fall undetected to the outside of the fort walls. The rest of the archers met the same fate, their bodies either toppled from the walls or tucked away just shy of another's dim torchlight. Alex had gotten through four of the seven occupants posted outside of the keep when one of her targets fell dead just inside the walls. The last of his comrades roared his confusion and instantly raced from the protective stone, searching for the source and followed quickly by the last of his companions. A familiar screech of metal whistled from behind the Imperial and as she slung her bow around her back and retrieved her comforting dagger, she looked back to see the eager smile on Lydia's face for the fight she'd been waiting to engage in.

XXXX

Even with the sturdy canvas of her tent and the thick material of her bedroll, the relentless chill of snow iced wind bit at the Imperial's shuddering skin. The snow had began to fall again later into the evening. It had been relatively peaceful just hours ago before she helped liberate Thorald from Northwatch Keep. She and Lydia fought with a silent coordination that fell into place with each swing and well-timed defense. After navigating the stone expanse of the fort they'd located the captured Thorald Gray-Mane and exited with a message that would soon serve as a certain salvation for Fralia when they return. Alex hadn't had much trouble with the cold then. There was no wind nor falling puffs of chilly snow but soon as their hike distanced the two further from the stone fortess the wind and chill picked up to a degree that Alex could barely endure. An hour into their voyage back to Whiterun the pair had to stop and set up camp just off of the road. There was no point in sparking a fire for it certainly wouldn't last against the angry gusts of frozen wind.

The entire time Alex set up her thick snow tent, Lydia watched with a worry that caused her movements to slow as she prepared her own shelter. The Imperial bid a quivering goodnight as she all but jumped into the false salvation of her large encampment and soon finding that it did no good against the cold. So she laid, a ball of shivering flesh on the floor screaming for a chance to sneak away and find warmth in the thick furs of her Wolf. Alex watched as every breath released from her mouth froze into white mist. The cold locked her muscles in ungiving shivers that made her pull her limbs impossibly closer to her core in hopes that it would save what little body heat was left inside her. Alex shut her eyes, willing herself to stop the whimpers that began to escape her when the wind only worsened, sending her thick tent harshly thrashing around her.

_'I should've let Lydia stay home.' _Alex thought to herself. _'I'd long be past this cold mess in warm fur by now.' _

Through her unwavering shudders and whimpers Alex could still hear the constant stirring in Lydia's tent nearby. It was well known to her that Nords had a resistance to conditions such as this. Her shaking must have been keeping her up and the thought that Lydia was losing sleep because of Alex's unintentional complaints made the Imperial feel a bit of guilt, not to mention the obtrusive discomfort she felt having Lydia so far away. Sure she was merely a few feet away at most but gods if it didn't feel like miles and it only made the frozen Oblivion of her tent all the worse to endure. So as she quaked in her all but useless shelter, Alex silently hoped for some form of rescue.

In the next tent over, Lydia struggled to find that perfect spot that pulled millions to bed in the span of seconds. That position that enveloped warriors and civilians alike into deep slumber that often went undisturbed until the next morning. She couldn't find it for her ears were constantly ambushed with the sounds that managed to penetrate her shelter's walls. Penetrate the harshly hissing wind. Penetrate the uncaring exterior that once enveloped her whenever the shivering Imperial's friendly grin popped up in her thoughts. She couldn't find it for that elusive and comfortable position was a tent away cocooned around the Imperial who fended just fine in cut-throat battle but was currently helpless against the night's frozen evil.

Alex was very much awake when her mental pleading brought upon the salvation she'd been craving. The tent flaps rustled when a hesitant hand pushed through. The angry wind forced its way in and assaulted the vulnerable Imperial's goose-bumped skin with utmost ferocity in the few seconds her tent doors were held open. She didn't dare look back to see who'd crawled in for she already knew who it was when the fierce wind blew in Lydia's balmy perfume. All she did was shut her eyes and let out a thankful breath.

Her savior had come at last.

**xx**

** All the story alerts and favorites... warmed my heart it really did! ****Thank you to everyone who reviewed! It really made me smile and it _really _is appreciated. Maybe not one in particular but hey I guess that means I'm in the big leagues :D really happy about that.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Dislcaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

With quick hands Lydia knotted the tent flaps shut, ceasing the insistent gusts from entering their shelter. Lydia turned to the saddening sound of the Imperial's small whimpers and nearly winced at how prone she looked huddled up and shaking in her thick bedroll. It was quieter inside her tent though the snarling wind still slapped relentlessly against the canvas surface. Lydia slid off her shoes as she crawled toward Alex's quivering form fighting with herself to keep from springing straight for her.

"Lydia." the Imperial breathed peacefully despite her violent shuddering, her lids slid shut and her lips smiled when Lydia pressed a warm palm to her lightly ice coated cheek.

The anxious Nord frowned in concern when she felt the thin sheet of ice melt against the warmth of her skin. "By the Nine Alex you'll catch a sickness with how cold you are." she whispered with utmost worry and instantly lifted a portion of the bedroll to slide into without sparing a second for permission from the Imperial or even herself. Lydia gently rolled Alex to face her and the Imperial's already labored breaths quickly hitched and built up in unwanted intensity.

"Cold c-c-old you're cold! T-too cold!" Alex whined desperately her body inching away from Lydia and the sheet of snow that managed to stick to her clothes from outside. With her mind in near hysterics and her stress for Alex's well-being at a high Lydia desperately tried to quell the Imperial's discomfort as quickly as she could and barely allowed herself enough time to process her actions before pulling at the hem of her own linen top and yanking it off to eliminate the amount of coldness surrounding Alex's all but frozen body. With a great effort to ignore her exposed torso, Lydia tugged the Imperial against her and briefly cringed at how freezing she felt against her bare skin.

Slight shivers of cold and hunger escaped the Nord's lips as Alex eagerly huddled into Lydia's warmth. "Goodness Alex you're freezing." Lydia shivered as Alex blew uneven breaths into the woman's chest and chilled her breasts with the sheen of ice coating her cheek. Lydia flinched when icy fingers pressed against her fit stomach. A leg wiggled between her own and frozen feet clung against her warm ones.

"S-sorry." Alex murmured into Lydia's chest, her breaths still coming in uneven waves and her body quickly melting into the fit Nord's tantalizing warmth. Soft arms curled around her and pulled her closer. Lydia breathed deeply into Alex's hair in an attempt to calm the scrambled emotions flashing across her being.

"Ssh." the Nord gently urged as she buried her fingers in Alex's thick mane and tugged the woman's head more firmly against her chest silently enjoying the closeness despite the nerves it brought to life. "I should have came earlier. You wouldn't be so frozen if I'd came earlier."

Alex gave a shivering sigh. "I'm glad you came at all." she murmured as she felt Lydia softly nuzzle her hair with a cheek. "I don't think I would have lasted much longer against the cold."

Lydia shivered when Alex turned her fingers to warm her knuckles and gently sighed when the woman snuggled deeper into her. Alex let her eyes slide shut, basking in the gentle rhythm of Lydia's heart against her ear. It was far beyond comforting to listen to her mate's life beating its fervency even when her entire body still shuddered violently against the relentless night. Alex's fingers clutched Lydia's flesh of their own accord when a particular shudder had the Imperial's muscles contracting roughly. The Nord flinched and released a small groan at the slight pain that Alex's nails had unknowingly dealt and the shiver that came alive in the Imperial's skin then was not just a product of the cold.

"Alex," even as she quaked with restless tremors Alex still felt a certain euphoria when Lydia whispered her name and she was able to bask in it for a significant moment because nerves had stilled the Nord's next words for a couple seconds. "we can share body heat much faster if there weren't so many barriers between us."

Lydia's body stiffened anxiously when Alex slowly quirked her head up. She had no idea what she feared to see on Alex's face but whatever it had been was quickly forgotten when she was graced with a subtly gleaming stare that calmed her curiously. The Imperial remained silent for a moment as she shivered in Lydia's arms, then a gradual smile blossomed across her slightly blue lips. "A-are you t-t-trying to get nak-ked Ms. housecarl?" Alex teased lightheartedly.

Perhaps it was the comforting relaxation in the other woman's eyes that gave Lydia the nerve to play along. Perhaps it was the sheer unbelievability of things, maybe even their isolation from the rest of the world giving these events an almost unrealistic air that allowed Lydia to form a small teasing smile and say, "Perhaps. Are you trying to reject me?"

The smile that flourished from Alex's lips clutched at the Nord's heartstrings rather firmly and suddenly reminded her of the building nervousness she'd just been feeling. "Now what would ever give you that idea?"

Though her mind nearly brimmed with nervous anxiety Lydia's tongue managed to articulate what she refused to utter. "Maybe the fact that you're still clothed."

After a moment's reluctant hesitation Alex sighed and caught Lydia's gaze. "I would take my shirt off but frankly I'm feeling rather reluctant to let you go right now." the thick bedroll around them did no good compared to the delicious warmth that radiated from Lydia's skin and perhaps it was Alex's desperate need for heat or even her primal reluctance to back away from her mate but the idea of inching away even a hair was currently unthinkable.

When the flattery melted into a warm buzz that lingered in her chest, Lydia gave a soft smile and wiggled away from Alex just a bit. When the Imperial's content expression slowly turned an edgy tinge with Lydia's growing distance the Nord chuckled softly and lowered her hands to the shorter woman's shoulders and squeezing in comfort. "Relax." Lydia softly whispered and ran her hands down to tug at the Imperial's cold shirt. "take this off." she urged lowly and waited for the shorter woman to raise her arms before lifting the article from the enticing flesh beneath. However Lydia was unaware of what she'd gotten herself into until she felt the pebbled skin of Alex's hard nipples against the top of her stomach and instantly feeling that there was no cloth covering them. The Nord's eyes popped wide and her throbbing heart fell to her core which slowly heated to a temperature of its own.

_'Oh gods she's not wearing a bra.' _

Hearing Lydia's quickening heart and feeling her arms tighten and stiffen around her Alex felt a bit of guilt for possibly making the woman feel discomfort. "Sorry," she said. "p-probably should have t-told you about that." but her consideration slowly melted to something else entirely when the balmy scent of Lydia's waking lust began to drift. This time when Alex clutched the Nord's smooth flesh it was out of desire.

Alex knew this couldn't turn out good. At least not in the normal sense. Something would most likely happen tonight and her Nord company would surely react negatively to it. That was what happened before and the Imperial didn't like the idea of another month without Lydia's smile or her voice or her touch. Alex needed to find a way to calm herself but Lydia's tempting desire made the woman's control waver with every lapsing second and when a slightly more than gentle tug full of nails and want unintentionally pressed a knee into the Imperial's apex her mind was all but lost and a thick moan left her open lips. "_Fuck._" Alex hissed and her hot whisper fevered the expanse of Lydia's chest.

"Sorry." the Nord apologized and began to wiggle a few inches when a firm hand instantly landed on her waist and pulled her back.

And whether out of growing hunger and shrinking control or the significant effect Lydia's thigh had on Alex's emotions, the Imperial reached up and tugged the woman closer by burying long fingers in her hair. "Don't be." Alex whispered to Lydia's soft lips and covered them with her own. The potency of her lips hadn't dimmed from when Alex felt them last. Even with the thin coat of nervous hesitation holding their fervency back the Imperial reveled in the satisfying euphoria that began to well once again with each brush of Lydia's addicting mouth. A happy sigh warmed Alex's face and she felt Lydia's hot hands trail up her back and in her hair gently tugging her even closer to the Nord's kiss.

Even after breaking for air their mouths had remained restless. Lydia trailed her eager lips across the expanse of Alex's chilly neck, silently reveling in the delicious sighs rewarded to her. Each open kiss across the Imperial's tender neck was reciprocated with a happy breath of ice coated air and the eager clutching of her excited fingers around Lydia's wild hair. Alex groaned when her mate's lips closed upon her skin and sucked rather deliciously for a few moments. Her tongue reached out to trace Lydia's earlobe, earning muffled warmth to fan across her neck, before pulling it into her mouth and returning the attention the Nord was giving her. Their heated exchanges and gradual excitement perfumed their shelter and fevered the atmosphere. In a bout of uncontrolled hunger Alex forced Lydia to her back not so gently. Her teeth instantly tracing lightly across the woman's throat constantly joined by her tongue every now and again. A shock jolted for Lydia's core at the slight roughness of being pinned and nearly moaned in glee when Alex's active mouth began to descend her creamy flesh, teeth, lips, and tongue all steadily waking the flame flickering deep within her gut.

Lydia arched against Alex's mouth when a knowledgeable tongue traced a teasing trail across the underside of the Nord's ample breasts. Alex smiled at the hungry sigh that graced her ears from above and the shiver that shook the satin flesh upon her tongue. As her hand gently tweaked Lydia's other nipple, Alex ran her tongue up the warm globe and closed her lips upon the jeweled tip earning only the first of many delicious mewls of hungry intensity that sent her nectar gathering between her legs.

**xx**

**Sorry for the absence, this ones pretty short I know but if I didn't get something up I probably wouldn't have done so in a much longer time. The next chapter will be longer and it may continue where this one left off I'm still deciding. **


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: Skyrim isn't mine.**

Excited fingers threaded through the Imperial's sleek mane as her tongue softly flicked the pebbled skin between her lips. When Alex gave a subtle nibble to the tempting flesh a pleased groan burst from Lydia's throat and her hands fisted in Alex's now ruffled tresses. Hot air escaped the Imperial's mouth and heated Lydia's warming skin at the fervency in the delicious grip buried within her hair. Feeling those insistent hands pushing her more firmly against the delicious mound between her lips, Alex had to suppress a hungered growl from deep within her throat. After suckling on Lydia's stiffened pebble for a few moments more Alex released the captured flesh with a small smack and earned a happy moan from above that stroked the hunger in her gut and gathered the lust between her legs ever more. With Lydia's own lust permeating her wakening senses Alex licked a thin trail down her mate's mound and tongued the supple expanse of the underside of her Nord's breast. The taller woman sucked in a deep sigh that soon escaped in quaked hunger that made Alex's skin begin to tingle. Her skillful tongue had begun a fiery trail across the valley of Lydia's breasts, on its way to please the other when those fisted hands tugged Alex less than gently up to her eager mouth.

The moan that escaped the Imperial's lips vibrated on Lydia's tongue for Alex had quickly sought out the warm muscle suckling on it until a groan was produced. As if her lips and teeth had tugged the delicious sound from Lydia's tongue itself. With a sudden shift of limbs and an eager outburst of want, Alex found herself pressed against the bedroll sheets and the cool body once beneath her now layering a gentle weight above her. Lydia's palms clutched the Imperial's cheeks while her lips ravaged her mouth and her legs straddled her waist and her heat pressed against Alex's hips. And with Alex's senses on high alert, the ever thin garment of Lydia's linens did nothing to obstruct the fire roiling ever so impatiently against the Imperial's abdomen. It was the Imperial's turn to revel when Lydia's hot mouth descended upon her tender neck, licking and nipping and sucking everywhere it could. A certain suckle on a spot just behind her ear had Alex's eyes shutting her breath hitching and her hands falling to grab the Nord's bottom firmly and earning a moan that twinned her own. Warm hands cupped Alex's breasts as a hot tongue began to trail down between them. Alex allowed the shift in dominance, but only for as long as could be managed for she knew her Beast Blood would soon sing for her to claim her control again. But for now, she enjoyed the way Lydia's mouth nipped the soft flesh between her breasts and sought out a hardened nipple in the night's darkness, though to her she saw perfectly. Her back arched, reaching for the tender pleasure that steadily heated her need to a roil. Her hands began to act on their own. Her thumbs beginning to play with the hem of Lydia's linens as the Nord continued to pleasure her breasts. When a slightly rougher nibble shot through her nipple she felt Lydia's lips smile upon it at the shocked groan that met the air. Alex allowed her own grin before her hands grabbed Lydia's backside sternly and tugged down roughly, melding the Nord's wakened heat to Alex's bare stomach. A happy and surprised mewl vibrated Alex's breast pleasantly and her own hips began to undulate at the motions Lydia's pelvis had taken upon itself to act out.

"Fuck." Lydia shuddered to the night as she begun a slow rhythm with her hips. The Imperial's hands aided them by pressing them more firmly against her, guiding them up and down against her toned stomach, "sweet Talos, Alex" the Nord's shaky whisper blew warmth through the constant mist emanating from Alex's mouth which slowly curled with want for the way Lydia spoke her name.. how she'd always love the way that woman said her name.

Deciding Lydia had gotten enough time, the Imperial's eager Beast Blood roared in the way she instantly reclaimed her spot above her Nord. A low and eager growl sliding from her lips before those restless hands gave no mercy to the meager trousers that kept her from her prize. Lydia reveled in the rough way Alex handled her, in the way the woman gripped her hips so eagerly and willed open those legs so anxiously and instantly buried her long tongue completely in the very place that Lydia hungered for her the most.

Steam replaced the cold mist that clouded their tent, moans were sang to the snowy mountains around them, hands became lips and lips became tongues and tongues drew out more groans of long awaited pleasure that lurked impatiently around the two of them for weeks on end.

Deep into Alex's pleasuring Lydia's fingers lost their way in the Imperial's soft mane clutching eagerly in that ocean of silk as the sleek muscle strumming her need kept up a gracious rhythm that had Lydia's back arching and her throat singing and her hips grinding for Alex's wicked tongue read her spots like a book and spoke her pleasure like poetry.

Replacing her deft tongue with two fingers Alex navigated her way back up her heaving lover's body, mouth caressing every silky plain on her way to Lydia's listening ear. Alex's pumping fingers slowed their rhythm, to Lydia's slight protest, so that the pleasure wouldn't distract her lover too much when Alex whispered, "You've gotten so wet for me, I'll not lie I'm quite wet as well but you'll have your time to make me come," the Nord beneath her gave a deep and eager moan at that prospect, her hips rocking harder against Alex's working hand. "but right now it's my turn to please you," Alex pumped roughly one time, earning a happy mewl and rough nails burying in her back, "to fuck you," Lydia's head fell back against the bedroll, her lover's perfume loosening her already pleasure hazed mind as the Imperial planted a gentle, tender kiss to her open neck. "to love you."

**xx**

**Yep I know I've been gone for a while. I apologize for that, I planned on updating muuuch sooner but I literally had no access to my laptop because I'd lent the charger to my cousins. Didn't exactly think that through obviously. Well school and projects are keeping me busy so I apologize in advance for my infrequent updates from now on and I'm also sorry for the length of this chapter, I know I said it would be longer but free time is really elusive to me right now. If anyone is still out there reading this story I hope I didn't totally fail this lemon haha**


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